Methods, media, and apparatus for intelligent selection of items encoded onto portable machine-readable entertainment media

ABSTRACT

Intelligent selection of items encoded onto portable machine-readable entertainment media comprises receiving at least one request from at least one given viewer related to obtaining at least one instance media for viewing and identifying the given viewer based on the obtaining of the at least one instance media for viewing.

RELATED APPLICATION INFORMATION

This application is a continuation of and claims priority fromapplication Ser. No. 10/954,688, filed 30 Sep. 2004 now U.S. Pat. No.7,178,720, entitled “Methods, Media, and Apparatus for IntelligentSelection of Items Encoded onto Portable Machine-Readable EntertainmentMedia” the entire contents of which are enclosed by reference herein.

This application contains subject matter that is related to applicationSer. No. 10/335,060, filed 31 Dec. 2002, entitled “Methods and Apparatusfor Intelligent Selection of Goods and Services in Telephonic andElectronic Commerce.”

This application also contains subject matter that is related toapplication Ser. No. 09/907,724, filed Jul. 17, 2001, entitled “Methodsand Apparatus for Intelligent Selection of Goods and Services inTelephonic and Electronic Commerce.”

This application also contains subject matter that related toapplication Ser. No. 09/691,392, filed Oct. 17, 2000, entitled “Methodsand Apparatus for Intelligent Selection of Goods and Services inTelephonic and Electronic Commerce.”

This application also contains subject matter that related toapplication Ser. No. 09/505,619, filed Feb. 16, 2000, also entitled“Methods and Apparatus for Intelligent Selection of Goods and Servicesin Telephonic and Electronic Commerce”, which is a continuation ofapplication Ser. No. 09/038,399, similarly entitled “Methods andApparatus for Intelligent Selection of Goods and Services in Telephonicand Electronic Commerce”, now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,055,513.

Each of the foregoing patents and applications is hereby incorporated inits entirety herein by this reference as if set forth verbatim herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a simplified flowchart demonstrating aspects of the upsellsystem.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a system for implementing the methods ofthis upsell system.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart for an Internet-based order transaction inaccordance with the invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a system adapted for telemarketingapplications.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a system adapted for Internet or otherelectronic commerce use.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of the functional aspects of the system.

FIG. 7 is a detailed flowchart for one implementation of the methods ofthese inventions.

FIG. 8 shows a representative screen display for a telemarketingoperator.

FIG. 9 shows a exemplary display for a Internet-based display.

FIG. 10 shows a flowchart for a customer service application.

FIG. 11 shows a depiction of a potential customer interacting via awireless device.

FIG. 12 shows a plan view of a possible on-screen programming guide inconjunction with an upsell determination.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating processing performed by anotherembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating additional, optimal processing thatthe invention can perform.

FIG. 15 is a block diagram illustrating the sources of various inputs tothe upsell system components.

FIG. 16 is a block diagram illustrating several examples of inputs tothe upsell system.

FIG. 17 is a block diagram illustrating a system and related data flowsadapted to interact with viewers of entertainment media and to encodeitems selected specifically for respective viewers onto instances of themedia as delivered to the viewers.

FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram of an instance of the media as it may beencoded by the system illustrated in FIG. 17.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart illustrating processing performed in connectionwith selecting items specifically for respective viewers and encodingdata presenting these items onto instances of the media as delivered tothe viewers

OVERVIEW OF THE INVENTION

Apparatus and methods are provided for effecting remote commerce, suchas in telemarketing (either inbound or outbound) and in electroniccommerce, which are particularly adapted for the intelligent selectionand proffer of products, services or information to a user or customer.In one implementation of the invention, the system and methods obtaininput information for the system from a primary transaction, identifyone or more goods or services for possible proffer and upsell to thecustomer based at least in part upon the primary transaction datainformation provided to the system, and thereafter, offer the user orcustomer one or more items determined to be among the optimum upsells.

In one aspect of the invention, a method provides offers of an itemconstituting a good or a service in the form of an offer for purchase ofthe item to potential customers as users of the system, utilizing anelectronic communications device, such as a telephone, videophone orcomputer, comprising the steps of, first, establishing communication viathe electronic communications device between the user and the system forpurpose of a primary transaction; second, obtaining primary transactiondata with respect to the transaction, including determining the identityof the prospective customer; third, obtaining at least a second dataelement relating to the user for the upsell determination; fourth,utilizing at least in part the primary transaction data and the seconddata element and determining at least one good or service item forprospective upsell to the prospective customer; and fifth, offering theitem to the prospective customer.

In the preferred implementation of the inventions, the input informationfor the system includes primary transaction data and at least a seconddata element obtained from a database, especially a remote, third partydatabase or databases. Primary transaction data may include datarelating to or reflecting the initial or primary contact from thecustomer to the system. In operation, one or more databases may beaccessed, either in parallel or series, to collect and assemble inputinformation for the system to determine the upsell or intelligentproduct selection.

One example of primary transaction data includes transaction determiningdata, which provides an indication of the purpose of the call, forexample, whether the primary contact was for purchase of a product, fora service request or an inquiry. Such transaction determination data mayeither be used to consummate the primary transaction or not. By way ofexample, a user initiating remote contact with a source of sales orservices might initially contact the source desiring repair of adefective product, whereupon the transaction determination dataindicating a repair contact may then be used as an input to the systemidentifying responses to be proffered. In such a circumstance, while theprimary transaction data reflect a service contact, the customer may beoffered in response a sales transaction for a new product which includesthe functionalities of the product which formed the basis for theprimary transaction.

Yet another aspect of primary transaction data may include customeridentification data. Such data may be specific data in that it uniquelyidentifies the contact, such as in person specific data comprising anelectronic address, an e-mail address, customer number, billing data orcredit card number. Customer identification data may in some instancesbe less than person specific data, such as residence specific data. Forexample, a caller's telephone number, such as may be automaticallysupplied by the automatic number identification (ANI) service or otherforms of caller identification, may identify a customer to the level ofa residence. Optionally, additional data may be requested so as tospecify a subset, e.g., a unique resident, from the household. At yet aless specific level of geographic granularity, identification data mayinclude zip code data or other geographic identifier. Identificationdata may be obtained automatically from a carrier, such as through theuse of ANI for telephonic communications, or through an electronicidentifier for electronic commerce, such as transactions over theInternet. Alternatively, non-automatic entry may be utilized, such aswhere the customer or operator effects data entry.

Yet further aspects of the input information for the system may includea correlation system for matching primary transaction data or otherinput data with a corresponding or keyed designator number for obtainingyet further input information. For example, while an initial contact toa telemarketer may automatically obtain the caller's telephone number,such as from ANI, a correlation system may then provide a designator,such as a social security number, which may be utilized as an index orkey for accessing yet further data bases or sources of information. Forexample, a caller's telephone number as provided as primary transactiondata via ANI may through the correlation system result in a socialsecurity number or credit card number which may then be used todetermine the credit worthiness of the caller from a database check. Thecollection of input information for the system may be effected basedupon local resident databases, such as a telemarketer's database, orthrough use of third party databases, such as credit card or creditworthiness databases, or possibly, a combination of both local andremote databases. Any form or content for a local or remote database maybe utilized which is consistent with the goals and objects of theinvention.

Beyond credit databases and identification databases, numerous otheroptions may be utilized. A demographic database may be utilized toidentify direct or predicted attributes of the customer. Specific inputinformation regarding the customer, such as age, sex, income,profession, education level, family status, lifestyle, and/or interests,may be used as separate and discrete inputs, or may be effectivelycombined to provide a coded designator based upon demographics,socioeconomic analysis or otherwise to provide a coded designator. Athird party database provider, such as a credit card issuer (e.g., Visa,MasterCard, American Express), may not wish to provide specific, rawdata with respect to a user, such as where they would specificallyidentify a customer's income as may be known to the credit card issuerthrough the credit application. In such circumstances, processed datamay be provided such as through the use of the coded designator,previously mentioned. In this way, the third party database may provideresponsive, effective information for the upsell determination, but yetpreserve in confidence the specific details known to it regarding theuser which is a customer of both the upsell service and the credit cardcompany. Yet another type of third party database may includesubscription information, such as telephone services subscriptioninformation as maintained by telephone companies or other carriers. Suchinformation may include the types of service, such as call waiting,three-way conferencing or the like.

Yet another possible input to the system includes inventory data. Suchdata serves to minimize or preclude the offering of goods or services toa potential customer which are not then available, or which will not beavailable in a timely manner. Such inventory information may be used ina positive manner, such as an input for possible offers of an upsell, orin a negative manner, such as where a potential upsell has beendetermined but is then deleted from the possible proffers based upon itsundesirable inventory status.

Yet another possible variable for use in the upsell or other selectingof a good or service for offer to the prospective customer is geographicinformation. Specifically, the geographic location of the potentialcustomer may be utilized as a factor in the determination. By way ofexample, a customer utilizing a wireless device, such as a cellularphone, Palm Pilot VII, or other wireless communication or web accessdevice, may provide geographic position information regarding the userof the system. That information may be obtained via global positioningsatellite (GPS) information, or may be taken from a knowledge of thebase station position or access device position. In the wired domain,the geographic position information may be obtained at various levels ofgranularity, such as through the use of area code information, or morespecifically, exchange information, or yet even more particularly,through the use of various databases which map telephone numbers tospecific geographies, such as a caller's street address. The geographicposition of the user may be determined via an access point to a system,such as where a customer utilizes an automated teller machine (ATM), anelectronic signature device, or a vending machine for purchase oftransportation tickets or other items on a network. The geographicposition of the user is known based upon their interaction with thenetwork.

The geographic information may be utilized in combination with otherinformation in determining an offer or upsell. By way of example, thesystem or access device may know the position of a potential user of agood or service based upon position information from a GPS system, andmay utilize that information in offering a good or service, such as adiscount coupon, at a geographically local store. Such an offer may bemade as the result of a caller contacting the system, or may be providedin an outbound or push based context where the system contacts thepotential user of the offer, such as by calling their cellular phone orother wireless device. The geographic position information mayadditionally be combined with data or information regarding thegeography of the person. For example, if the positional informationindicates that the person is in a casino at midnight, it may be a validassumption to assume that the person is not risk averse. In yet anotherparticular application involving a wireless communication device, adisplay, such as a billboard, may provide a telephone number or code(e.g., *72). By dialing the number, the system may generate a tailoredresponse regarding the good, service or information upon any number offactors, such as knowing the identity of the caller via the mobileidentification number (MIN), plus any associated information known aboutthe caller. The use of a code on the billboard may be combined with theknowledge of the base station receiving the call, to uniquely designatethe billboard and the requested information.

Another application of the upsell system is in conjunction withon-screen programming guides. Such on-screen programming guides presenta viewer of a television or other display with information regardingprogramming, entertainment or other information categorized in apredefined manner, such as by channel and time. In such a system, theselection (either made or considered) by the user may be provided asinput to the decision system. For example, if a viewer selects aPay-Per-View sports event, that selection may be used as an input to thesystem as described generally in this application which then results inthe selection and offer of another good, service or set of informationfor the potential customer. Continuing with the example of an order fora Pay-Per-View sporting event, the system may determine, through thevarious methods described herein, to offer the viewer a series ofentertainment events, such as a seasonal football schedule. The inputdevice for such an onscreen programming guide application in the upsellcontext could be a remote control operated by the viewer.

Yet another class of database information may include third partydatabases relating to items believed to be possessed by or desired bythe customer. For example, a possession database may indicate that thesystem user possesses a certain formalware pattern, or has a certainnumber of place settings of a pattern. The status information regardingthe possession and/or completeness of a set may be utilized as an inputto the system to identify an upsell to the customer. In yet anotheraspect, a registry database which reflects desired goods or services maybe consulted as yet further input information for the system foridentifying the proffer.

The system for identifying the potential proffer utilizes the inputinformation so as to generate one or more outputs comprising potentialproffers to the user. Various selection methodologies are available,including historical selection criteria keying the proffer to what haseffectively resulted in sales or successful transactions in the past, orproffers based upon demographic profile or other inputs as a designatorfor a potential upsell. In yet other selection methodologies, themesales may be utilized such as where further goods are required tocomplete a set, such as a formal ware set.

In yet other aspects, the invention may include actions taken upon thehistorical factors relating to a specific customer or customer type. Forexample, the system may adapt to reduce the number or frequency ofupsells if it is determined that the customer is unlikely to purchase,or a pattern or time basis to the customer's purchasing is detected orexpected. Yet another historical factor may include a quality factor,such as where it has been determined or assumed that the customer isinterested in a certain level of quality, and accordingly, the selectionof the proffer is based in part upon the quality. In yet another aspectbased upon historical factors for a specific customer, knowledge of auser's possession, such as based upon a prior purchase, may be utilizedin the proffer. For example, where a computer sales entity possesses theknowledge that the customer owns a particular model of computer, thatinformation may be utilized in the selection of a proffer, such as inthe offer of increased computer memory, a new version of a softwareapplication or the like. Yet another historical factor may includeobsolescence of possessed materials, such as through the passage of timewhereby the possessed item becomes worn, outdated, or outgrown.

Yet other factors affecting the upsell may be based beyond thoseparticular to the user. For example, proximity to key calendar eventsfor others, birthdays, anniversaries or other typical gift giving days,may be utilized as a factor in the selection of the upsell. Further, thetime of the contact may be utilized, such as where a user contacts thesystem during the nighttime, wherein an upsell more likely to sell to a‘night owl’ will be offered as opposed to what is believed toeffectively sell to a ‘morning person’. Offers may vary based upon dayof the week, or day of the month, such as correlation or actual orexpected paydays.

In one aspect of the invention, multiple actions may be taken in onetransaction. For example, while a credit verification is being effectedfor a primary transaction, a second credit check may be performed todetermine available credit, which is in turn used as an input to theupsell determination system. In yet another aspect, multiple upsells maybe selected, whereby multiple potential purchases are offered to theuser either simultaneously or serially, and if serially, the reaction toan earlier offer may be utilized in the decision for subsequent offers.

After the upsells have been identified, they are offered to the user. Inthe telemarketing application, a script directed towards the sale of theselected product is provided to the telemarketing representative. In anelectronic commerce environment, a display or other communication of theoffer is made, such as through textual data, video, and/or audiocommunication. Additionally, information may be provided by additionalor other modes of communication, such as e-mail, facsimile, independentphone contact, cable contact, etc. The proffer is typically accompaniedby a solicitation to consummate the transaction. The results of theproffer response thereto may be utilized in the modification or updatingof the system for identifying later upsells.

In one aspect of this invention, a method is provided for presentationof information to users of an electronic system comprising the steps of,first, establishing communication between a user of the system and theelectronic system, second, determining characteristics of the user basedat least in part upon the communication between the user of the systemand the electronic system, third, determining the mode of presentationfor the user based at least in part on the determined characteristics ofthe user, and fourth, presenting the information to the user in thedetermined mode.

In yet further aspects of the consummation of either or both of theprimary transaction or the derivative, upsell transaction, an orderfulfillment system may be utilized. Upon receipt of indication that thetransaction is to be consummated, the system may so designate theproduct, and may automatically provide for shipping and billing of theuser. Optionally, tracking of the item may be included.

In operation, a user establishes communication with a telemarketer(either with the user establishing communication in an inboundenvironment or with the telemarketer establishing communication in anoutbound environment) or through other electronic contact, such asthrough a website contact or hit, upon which identity informationregarding the user is either automatically obtained such as through theuse of ANI or manually obtained, such as through entry of identificationinformation by the user. The identity information may be specific to theuser, or may be more generalized such as information relating to thetype of primary transaction or interaction. A second data element isthen obtained, preferably from a second, and most preferably remote,database which is then used in conjunction with the primary transactionor primary interaction data so as to select a subset of potential ofoffers of goods, services or information to the user. Upon selection,the goods, services or information are provided to the user, and if theinteraction is for the purpose of sale, the transaction is preferablyconsummated. In the preferred embodiment, inventory checks for theproposed offer, as well as a credit authorization for the proposedoffer, are made during the course of the communication, and mostpreferably, prior to the offer of the secondary item. In yet anotheraspect, the inventions relate to the intelligent selection and profferof goods, services or information based upon an initial contactgenerating at least partial identification data, utilizing a remote,external database to develop yet further identification or informationrespecting the user, utilizing the collected information in theselection of the good, service or information to be provided to theuser, and providing the same to the user. In one application, a user isidentified during the course of a primary transaction, andidentification information is utilized in an access of a credit carddatabase, whereby raw, processed or coded designator information isobtained from the credit card provider, wherein the information isutilized in the selection of the further good, service or information tobe provided to the user. In yet another aspect of this invention, themode of presentation of the information to the user is based at least inpart upon the identification information respecting the user. The modeof presentation may be varied based on demographic information, such asage, sex, income, occupation, education level, family status, lifestyleor interests.

In yet another aspect of this system, an electronic system permits theuser of a web or other electronic commerce system to interact with alive operator. In this way, what has heretofore been merelycommunication between a user and a non-human system may divert thetransaction to an operator/transaction assistant.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 shows a hybrid block diagram and flowchart of one implementationof the system and methods of these inventions. The simplified depictionof FIG. 1 reflects aspects of a telemarketing implementation, though itwill be understood that various structures and functionalities may beextended to other implementations, such as electronic commerce and thelike.

By way of terminology, when the terms “user”, “system user”, “customer”,“potential customer”, “contact” or equivalent terminology is used, thoseterms are meant to refer to a person or entity to whom the efforts ofthe offering are at least in part directed. Variations in meaning as tothis terminology may be taken from context, as necessary. The terms“good(s)” and “service(s)” while distinct, are intended within the scopeof the patent to be used interchangeably, where appropriate given thecontext. When appropriate from context, a good or service may include acoupon, ticket, card or other promotional material, including printedmaterial, having a value designator. Further, a “service” may includeinformation or entertainment. The term “upsell” means an offer orprovision of a good or service which is selected for offer to thecustomer and differs from the good or service for which the primarycontact was made. The term “upsell” is not limited to the context inwhich a primary transaction is intended to be a sales transaction, butadditionally includes the offer of a good or service offered inaccordance with the selection criteria of the invention even if theprimary transaction is not principally sales motivated, such as where aninitial contact is for service or repair purposes. The use of “he” isgender neutral, and may be read as “he”, “she” or “it”. When the term“and” or “or” is used, they may be read in the conjunctive or thedisjunctive, where appropriate from context.

Various aspects of the invention provide systems and methods forintelligently processing at least one primary transaction involving atleast one user accessing a system using a communications device. Theterm “system” refers to any computer-based processing system thatautomates any type of interaction with the user. The term“communications device” refers to any hardware (for example deviceshaving embedded processors or other “smart” hardware) useful forenabling the user to access any local, regional, national, or globalcommunications networks such as local-area or wide-area computernetworks (LANs or WANs, respectively). Example LANs can include computernetworks linking various components of a merchant's computerinfrastructure, while example WANs can include networks such as theInternet or the World Wide Web. The term “communications device” alsorefer to hardware enabling the user to access other wired or wirelesscommunication networks such as the various public switched telephonenetworks (PSTNs) operating in different areas radio networks, cellulartelephone networks, cable or broadcast television networks,satellite-based communications networks, or other similar networkscurrently existing or developed in the future.

Initially, a system user contacts the system for purpose of a primarytransaction. As explained, however, the transaction need not be aconsummated transaction. If the system user is a potential customercontacting a telemarketing system, at action (statement) block 10 atelemarketing operator may interact with the potential customer and takethe order entry data for the primary transaction. Either upon completionof the primary transaction, such as through consummation of a sale or byprogram flow to further action prior to consummation of a sale, action(decision) block 12 is arrived at wherein data, such as order data orother primary transaction data is compared to one or more databases foranalysis. The primary transaction may be a contact for a sale or othercommercial transaction, a service or repair transaction or interaction,or may be for the purpose of an inquiry.

As depicted, a first database 14 coacts with action block 12. Typically,the database 14 is a locally resident database, such as thetelemarketers own database. It should be understood that a locallyresident database refers to any database configured for any access bythe telemarketer, not necessarily one that is located at thetelemarketer's site. Database 14, if a resident database, may handlematters requiring relatively quicker response, such as correlatingautomatic number identification (ANI) information received over thetelephone or communication network with other identification or priortransaction information on the caller.

One or more other databases (database A-database N), such as database A16 and database B 18 may be coupled to action block 12. As depicted,database A 16 is coupled via coupling path 24 to database B 18.Additionally, coupling path 26 interconnects action block 12 anddatabase A 16. Similarly, action block 12 is coupled to database B 18via coupling path 28. Any of the databases 14, 16, 18 may beinterconnected as desired consistent with the intended functionalitiesof the systems described herein. Thus, though not expressly shown, theresident database 14 may couple to database B 18, either directly or viaa path such as through action block 12 to coupling path 28, or viaaction block 12, coupling path 26, database A 16 and coupling path 24.These databases may be accessed simultaneously, or in any combination ofparallel, serial, sequential or time access. Preferably, the accessingof multiple databases is performed in a manner to minimize any delay ineffecting a real-time proffer to the user.

Secured communications are preferably utilized within some or all of thesystem. For example, encrypted messages or data may be utilized, such aswhen transmitting raw or analyzed data from, to or between databases.Further, privacy concerns are addressed by precluding or inhibiting thesharing of information between users, or between various database ownersor content providers. Further, security qualification or entitlementrestrictions may be utilized such as to the entire system, or parts ofthe system, such as databases.

Sources of input information for the system, such as primary transactiondata and other input data for the upsell identifying system may comefrom any or all of action block 10, or other databases 14, 16 and 18. Itwill be understood by those skilled in the art that the number andinterconnection of the various databases 14, 16 and 18 has beensimplified for expository convenience, and is not intended to be alimitation on the scope or teaching of the invention. From action block12, after the system identifies one or more upsell items for offering tothe potential customer, offering block 30 serves to provide the selecteditems to the potential customer. In the telemarketing application, thetelemarketer would at this stage have text or other informationavailable to provide to the customer. Typically, a screen pop includinga text directed towards the sale of the upsell item would appear, atwhich point, the telemarketing sales representative would verbally makethe sales presentation to the caller.

Various descriptions of the structure and function of the embodiments isprovided in this patent. However, as is understood by those skilled inthe art, the performance of a given functionality may be distributedamong one or more components, and conversely, multiple structures may berequired to achieve a desired functionality. While the detaileddescriptions herein have been provided with respect to certainallocations of functionality and structure to various items (such aselements of a block diagram or flowchart) the underlying inventionsherein should not be limited to the allocation of those structures,functions, diagrammatic representations or labeling selected forexpository convenience herein. By way of example, while routing oftelephone calls and computer-based call handling have historically beenrelatively discrete, segregable functions, and further segregable basedupon discrete equipment, the trend is towards integration anddistribution of functionality more broadly within a system. Accordingly,the understanding of the inventions herein should be based upon thefunctionality, as implemented by selected structures, though notnecessarily upon which particular unit of structure in which thefunctionality resides.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a simplified embodiment of structure usableto achieve the functionality of these inventions when suitably adaptedfor such use. FIG. 3 is a more detailed schematic diagram of onepossible implementation of a structure for use in implementing thefunctionalities of the inventions here. When feasible, the samenumbering will be used in various figures to describe any correspondingelement. FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of a telemarketing system 40adapted for communication with one or more databases 50, as well as adatabase 42 which may be integral or resident within the telemarketingsystem 40. Within the telemarketing system 40 are grouped variousfunctionalities, including the telemarketing company operator 42, thedatabase 44 resident at the telemarketing system 40 with its attendantcomputer for processing and control, as well as a computer 46 foranalysis of the inputs and generation of one or more outputs forprovision to the user. One or more external databases 50 may be includedwithin the system. A first database A 52 and a second database B 54 aredepicted, though it is to be understood that the selection of twodatabases 50, and the interconnection there between, is selected forexpository convenience and is not intended to reflect any limitation onthe structure or functionality of the system, provided thefunctionalities of the invention may be achieved.

FIG. 3 shows a block diagram of one implementation of a telemarketingsystem at a greater level of detail as compared to FIG. 2. While thefollowing description is generally provided in the context of inboundtelemarketing, the inventions herein may also equally be applied tooutbound telemarketing. Users 74 (also known as customers, or potentialcustomers) access the telemarketing system 40 via any known manner oftelephone, telephonic instrument or its equivalent. As shown, telephone76 comprises a touch-tone phone having a handpiece including a speakerand receiver, as well as an array of alphanumeric buttons for actuationby the customer 74. Alternatively, video phone 78 provides for bothaudio communication as well as image or video communication. The videophone 78 includes an array of alphanumeric buttons, a video display 80,typically a handset, and some imaging system 82, comprising a camera orother image generating system. A conventional touch-tone phone 76 may beutilized in association with a separate imaging system 84, if desired.In yet other modes, the customer or user 74 may interact with any otherform of man-machine interface which is consistent with the goals andfunctionalities of these inventions. By way of example, but not oflimitation, the customer 74 may interact with a computer, whetherstandalone or networked (by local area network (LAN), wide area network(WAN) or otherwise), which includes a communication capability (modem,etc.), or may comprise access capabilities to the Internet or web orInternet television type systems. Yet further examples of devicespermitting interaction between the user and the system include automatedteller machines (ATMs), ATM-like devices found at grocery stores, gasstations, car washes, or the like, electronic signature devices used incredit card or other types of transactions, networked vending machinesoffering airline, train, bus, or other travel tickets, other types ofnetworked vending machines, or essentially any electronic device adaptedto provide communicative interaction with the user. Many of thesedevices may include textual displays, potentially video displays andoptionally audio displays. Yet other display devices permittinginteractivity include various wireless devices, such as the Palm PilotVII, and Nokia communicator. Various other devices principally forentertainment and game play include the Sony Playstation and theMicrosoft X machine. Yet another display device which may include aninput capability comprises electronic books (e-books). Various inputtechnologies may be utilized to contact the system, whether touch-toneinput, keypad or mouse input, voice response technology, includingnuanced voice recognition technology, remote controls, touch screens,etc. Yet another form of input device includes smart cards. A smart cardstores information, such as information about the possessor of the smartcard. That information may be provided from the card for use in thesystem. A smart card may include identification data, other personalinformation or preference data. Any or all of that information may beutilized in order to make a better selection of a good or service foroffer to the customer. While the particular implementations andembodiments of the user 74 interface may vary, any interface whichprovides output to the customer 74 and permits return entry consistentwith the functionalities to be achieved herein is acceptable.

Optionally, other devices such as a printer 89 may be included. Thesevarious devices then interface with a carrier 89. The interconnection 88between the end instruments 76, 78 may be of any mode or manner, such asa copper wire connection, optical fiber, cable connection, wirelessconnection, cellular connection, satellite connection, or any other modeor manner of connection. Similarly, the communication path 88, andcarrier 89 may utilize any type or mixture of carrier technologies,whether analog, digital, ISDN, or at any rate of speed consistent withthe achievement of the functionalities described herein. Preferably, thecarrier 89 includes the ability for provision of more advanced telephonyservices, including the provision of DNIS, the dialed numberidentification service, and some form of caller identification such asautomatic number identification (ANI, caller ID, etc.). Typically, theDNIS and ANI information are provided from the carrier 89 to thetelemarketer 40 over connection 90, and may be either in-band or out ofband signaling, such as D-channel signaling in current time divisionmultiplexed modes of operation.

FIG. 3 depicts the telemarketing system 40, and separately identifiesthe upsell system components 70. The upsell system components 70 may beoptionally included broadly within the telemarketing system 40, or maybe provided on a standalone basis, such as where the upsell system 70 isgeographically distinct from the telemarketing system 40, and indeedwhere the upsell system 70 may be resident at a third party location andbe utilized by one or more telemarketing systems 40.

The telemarketing system 40 interacts with the carrier 89 viacommunication path 90. Optionally, this path may include variousadditional structures and functionalities as known to those skilled inthe art. For example, automatic call distributors may be utilized at thefront end of the telemarketing system 40 so as to serve a routing,holding and/or load leveling function, either done or in combinationwith other hardware and/or software. Within the telemarketing system 40,one or more operators 42, typically wearing headsets for audiocommunication, interface with terminals 92 which provide for at leasttextual display, and optionally, graphic image or video display. Theoperator 42 interfaces with the terminal 92 through any mode ormechanism, such as a keyboard, mouse or other pointing device, or anyother man-machine interface for data entry or communication.Conventionally, the operator 42 is a live operator, though optionallythe generation of audio images or video for presentation to the customer74 may be synthesized or simulated or represent virtual reality. By wayof example, a text-to-speech unit or other form of recorded speech maybe utilized. An audio response unit 94, also termed an interactive voiceresponse unit, may be utilized to provide some or all of the customer 74interaction. Additional structures and functionalities required for theoperation of the telemarketing system 40 may include local memory 96,local database 98, control (processor unit) 100 to provide overallcoordination and control of the various components of the telemarketingsystem 40 and its interaction with the other units described.Additionally, a printer 102 may be provided for generating a hard copyrecord, such as of order transactions. Additionally, a recording unit104, whether for audio, images, or both, may be included.

The upsell system 70 typically includes a determining or type analysissystem or unit 110 which serves to receive the various inputs for thedetermining unit and to generate outputs relating to possible upsellsfor the customer 74. Optionally, a local database 112 is provided withinthe upsell system 70. Chronological information, such as provided from acalendar 114 and/or clock 116 may be utilized within the system. Thedatabases 50, whether resident or external, are shown as database A 52,in this depiction being a demographics database, database B 54 being acredit database and database C being an inventory database.

Optionally, the system may include an order fulfillment system or unit120 which is coupled to receive outputs from the telemarketing system 40and/or the upsell system 70 indicative of a consummated transactionrequiring fulfillment. Optionally, a billing unit 122 andshipping/tracking unit 124 may be utilized in conjunction with the orderfulfillment system 120. An electronic notification (such as by e-mail)that an item has been shipped may be provided.

A simplified interconnection is provided in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3. Theselection and arrangement of the interconnection, as well as itsimplementation, are matters which are known to those skilled in the artand depends upon the particular technology in which the system isimplemented. Any interconnection or mode of implementation may beutilized which is consistent with the achieving of the goals andfunctionalities of these inventions. Yet other modes of accessing thesystem may be utilized. For example, electronic or web access 130generically depicts access through communication networks, such asthrough Internet access, cable, television, direct broadcast, satellitebroadcast, e-mail, facsimile, voicemail or otherwise. The web access 130may connect via web access connection 134 to some or all of the variousportions of the system, such as the shipping/tracking unit 124 so as tocheck on shipping or delivery information, the billing unit 122, or todirectly access the upsell system 70 as a variation on the point ofentry into the overall system. When considering access in anon-telephonic, though still electronic manner, reference should also bemade to the descriptions of FIGS. 4 and 5 relating to Internet orweb-based access and systems.

The depictions in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 will be used now for a briefdescription of one mode of interaction of the customer 74 with thetelemarketing system. A customer 74 may utilize a video phone 78 to diala toll-free telephone number in response to observing a promotion for agood or service. The carrier 89 effects telephonic connection to thetelemarketing system 40 preferably providing DNIS information which isutilized by the control unit 100 and local database 98 to provide atextual display on terminal 92 for use by the live operator 42 ininteracting with the customer 74. Additionally, the carrier 89 mayprovide caller identification data, such as ANI data, which may beutilized by the control unit 100 to retrieve information from thedatabase 98 particular to the customer 74. In addition to database 98,geographic designator programs exist which may be utilized to receiveANI data and to identify the geographic location of a customer such asby zip code, or more particularly, by zip code plus four. Based upon theretrieved information as provided to the live operator 42, a dialog isconducted relating to the primary transaction for which the customer 74made the primary or initial contact with the system. While handling theprimary transaction, the system may access one or more databases 50,such as a credit database 54 and a inventory database 56. If the user'scredit card number has been obtained, such as during the primarytransaction, or is otherwise known to the telemarketer through priorcontacts or is devined via a correlation system, the credit card numbermay be utilized to obtain raw or analyzed data regarding the caller. Theresponse from the credit card issuer or processor may be specific, suchas providing data on the user's income, sex, history of purchasetransactions or any other personal or demographic information known toit, or may provide a analyzed, coded message in response. The creditinformation, personal information, demographic information, possessioninformation or other form of input data is then used by the system togenerate the upsells or other real time provision of a secondarytransaction. The secondary transaction may relate to the offer of a goodor a service, or to a coupon, ticket, card or other promotional materialhaving a variable or designated value for the purchase, lease or otheracquisition in the future of a good or a service. In the preferredembodiment, there is a real time offer during a real time transaction.If the transaction is consummated, an indication may be provided to anorder fulfillment unit 120 and attendant units such as the billing unit122 and shipping/tracking unit 124.

Within the contemplation of the inventions, while a customer 74 isinteracting with the operator 42 with respect to the primarytransaction, the upsell system 70 is obtaining various input informationfor generation of a potential upsell item. As shown in FIG. 2, dataregarding the instant call 60 may pass from the telemarketing system 40to various databases 50, such as directly through path 62, oralternatively, from database A 52 to database B 54 via path 70. DatabaseA 52 may provide in return, analyzed or raw data 66, and similarlydatabase B 54 may provide analyzed or raw data 64 to the analysis system70 for processing in accordance with the inventions herein. Upongenerating the potential upsells, that information is provided to thetelemarketing system 40, for presentation to the operator 42 on theterminal 92. As described in more detail in connection with FIG. 8,multiple options may be presented for selection by the operator 42. If atransaction is then consummated with respect to the upsell, the orderfulfillment unit 120 and associated units may be utilized as inconnection with the primary transaction. As described further below, thedata from the proffer of the upsell may then be utilized in subsequenttransactions, such as by storing the information in memory 96, or byutilizing it in connection with the determining unit 110.

Reference has been made to the provision of analyzed or raw data 66 inconnection with databases 52, 54. The following discussion appliesgenerally with respect to the form of data provided. A database accessmay provide raw data, such as specific data relating to a given user,e.g., a particular user's income. A system may also provide analyzed orprocessed data, such as where not all of the data provided is raw data,but includes processed data, e.g., a coded designation indicative ofcertain aspects of the user. By way of example, third party databasepossessors often maintain substantial raw data specific to theircustomers. Financial institutions and transaction processors, such asbanks, brokerages, credit card issuers, credit card processors, haveextensive databases either from data provided to them such as throughapplication, forms or which is known to them due to their continuedcourse of contact. For example, a credit card company may both knowspecific raw data relating to a customer through the customer'sindication of its income on the original application, but may alsopossess data relating to purchases (such as transaction frequency,amount, type, item and location) which are obtained in the course ofprocessing the transactions of the user. The third party database ownermay be unwilling or unable, e.g., due to legal restrictions, fromproviding the raw data to other parties for their use in telemarketingor electronic commerce applications. However, process data which doesnot specifically reveal information of the user may be provided. Forexample, a coded designator may be provided from the third partydatabase to the transaction or upsell processor, typically throughagreed upon codes and formats, whereby the required information isprovided, but in a generic enough manner so as not to raise privacy orother concerns. For example, a designator code XYZ may relate to a userwith an income over $50,000, expected net worth of $75,000, is ahomeowner, and has an interest in stereo equipment. In this way, thespecific confidential information of the user may be preserved, whileproviding effective input for the processing or upsell system. One ormore coded designators may be provided. Coded designators may beprovided at a finer level of granularity, such as one designator toindicate whether or not the user is a homeowner, has an income within adefined range, etc. In this way, multiple designation may provide a morecomplete description.

FIG. 4 shows a simplified flowchart and block diagram depicting anInternet, web-based or other electronic commerce system for performanceof the inventions herein. FIG. 5 shows a detailed block diagram of oneoptional implementation of such a system. To the extent that descriptionprovided with respect to other figures described the same or similarstructure or functionality, the description is incorporated herein byreference.

As shown in FIG. 4, a user interacts with the system via contact block140 such as by having a primary transaction comprising an Internet ordertransaction being entered or effectuated by a user at a personalcomputer (PC) terminal. During the course of the primary transaction,processing step 142 serves to receive data at a address website andprocess the primary transaction. That transaction may be optionallyconsummated or not as suits the overall purpose of the transaction. Byway of example, if the upsell serves to obviate the purpose for theprimary transaction, such as when the primary transaction is forcustomer service or repair, and the upsell is successful in providingthe customer with a new product in replacement thereof, then the primarytransaction need not be consummated in the manner contemplated by theuser at the point of initial contact 140. Continuing with the flow ofthe program, at analysis block 140, the various inputs for use by theanalysis system are collected, and subsequently analyzed. In the courseof this collection and analysis, various sites, such as the websites owndatabase, 144, remote database A 150 and/or remote database B 152 may beaccessed. The coupling 154 between the analysis system 144 and thewebsite database 146, as well as the couplings 156 to the external orother databases, 152, as well as any coupling 158 between the databases146 (coupling to other databases not shown), 150, 152, may beimplemented as known by those skilled in the art. The particularselection of interconnections between various components is left toselection of implementation, where the implementation merely needs to beconsistent with the goals, objects and functionalities of thisinvention. Upon completion of the analysis at analysis block 144, theoutput of the analysis block 144 is provided to the user through actionblock 148. The upsell data may then be displayed on the caller's PC asan additional offer, or in lieu of the primary transaction.

FIG. 5 depicts one or more users 160 (also referred to as customers orpotential customers) who interface with the system via a computer 162.Typically, the computer 162 includes a display 164, such as a CRT orflat panel display, some input device such as a keyboard 166, andoptionally a mouse 170 or other pointing device, and may optionallyinclude an imaging unit 168 to image the user 160. Additional devicessuch as a printer 172, such as to provide a permanent transaction recordor to print images regarding proffered goods or services may beincluded. Similarly, a facsimile machine 174 may be included, and may beconnected to a telephone system for effective communication. Again, anytype of human/machine interface consistent with achieving the goals andfunctionalities of the instant inventions may be utilized with thissystem. A carrier 176, such as an on-line access service, cable accessservice, network, or other wired or wireless connection may be used toaccess the desired website 180. As depicted, connection path 178 isprovided which serves as a generalized descriptor for a path, such as aInternet established routing, network routing, or other routing forconnection of the user 160 for the website 180. The term website 180 isnot intended to be a term of limitation, but rather of genericdescription, to be an intermediate or terminal node or contact point inthe effecting of the electronic provision of goods or services so as toresult in commerce or information transfer. While the website 180 may bea site on the Worldwide Web (WWW), it need not be so. The underlyingaspects of this invention more broadly encompass the functionalities andstructures to achieve them, as those particular implementations toachieve them are modified over time.

The upsell system 190 includes a control and upsell generator system192, such as implemented through a special purpose computer or a generalpurpose computer program or otherwise adapted to achieve thefunctionalities described herein. The program may be implemented in alinear programmed fashion, or may use other decisional bases, such asexpert systems, fuzzy logic, neural networks, adaptive systems, or otherdecisional systems known to the art, and which effectuate the desiredfunctionalities of the inventions. Further, a determining unit 194 maybe included to provide an indication of the purpose of the originalcontact in the primary transaction. Clock 196 and calendar 198 providedate or chronology information, and may be combined as a single unit.Memory 200 may serve to store program information, input information tothe control and upsell generator 192 or other data required foreffective operation of the system. The website 180 may include its owndatabase 202, either directly connected to the website 180 or to theupsell system 190. Various databases, including database A 204, e.g., ademographics database, database B 206, e.g., a credit database, anddatabase C 208, e.g., an inventory database, may be accessed.Optionally, an order fulfillment unit 210, and associated billing units212 and shipping/tracking unit 214 may be included as described in moredetail with the telemarketing system. The interconnects 220 between thewebsite 180 and the upsell system 190, and between the upsell system andvarious databases 202, 204, 206, 208, as well as the coupling from theupsell system 190 to the order fulfillment unit 210. Optionally, aconnection 224 to a live operator system, such as the telemarketingsystem previously described, may be utilized. In this way, while aninitial access for a primary transaction is provided to a website,through program flow (where the operator may initiate contact with theuser) or at the election of the user (where the user may initiatecontact with an operator) 160 may be placed in connection with anoperator. Such an option provides for the ability to provideindividualized interaction between the user 160 and the overall systemfor the provision of electronic commerce or information transfer.

The various steps in the typical operation of the overall system willnow be described, with contemplation that the description may apply totelemarketing-based systems as well as electronic commerce-basedsystems, the applicability of the particulars to be taken from context.The description will relate to FIG. 6 which shows various interconnectedfunctionalities, and will relate to other figures when noted. Broadly,the following discussion will relate to the primary transaction, both asto the data and completion or consummation of the primary transactionsecond, to the upsell determination or other identification of specificproffers to the user, and finally the conveyance of that information tothe user and the action or consummation taken after that provision ofinformation to the user.

As to the primary transaction data 300, in a first aspect the primarytransaction data may include a type of contact component 304. The typeof contact may designate a purpose, particularly a primary purpose, forthe original contact by the user. By way of example, a type of contactmay be a purchase contact, or alternatively, may be a service contact. Asystem such as the determining unit 194 (FIG. 5) may generate theindication of the type of contact. The type of contact may be determinedfrom the address information utilized by the user, such as wheredifferent telephone numbers are provided for sales as opposed toservices, in which case the dialed number or DNIS information directlyprovides indication of type of contact. Alternatively, the selection maybe designated by the customer, such as where a menu selection isprovided, e.g., press 1 for sales, press 2 for service. The type ofcontact may also be indeterminant, such as when the user has contacted asite without a specific purpose in mind. The type of contact may bedefined at various levels of specificity, such as an indication that thetype of contact was for purchasing generally, though without intent asto purchase of a specific item, to the presumption that the type ofcontact was specifically for purpose of a particular product.

A second aspect of the primary transaction data may include customeridentification 302. Customer identification may be specific to acustomer. Examples of specific customer identification would include auser's social security number, customer number, personal identification(PIN) number or other designator uniquely identifying the user. In theelectronic realm, the customer identification may comprise an e-mailaddress, e.g., jasmith@aol.com, and Internet provider identification, ora source designator on a network. Various forms of electronic signaturesmay be provided which serve an identification, verification andauthentication function. At a lesser level of specificity, namely, oneat which a specific user may not be identified, various forms ofidentification exists. For example, a telephone number may providegeographic indication, such as through knowledge of its area code, orprovide even more geographic specificity through the prefix. Othergeographic descriptors, such as zip code or the finest level ofgeographic granularity (zip code plus 4) may be utilized. A residentialcustomer number may not yet specify a particular customer within ahousehold or location. Other forms of address, such as fax number, maybe utilized to provide a local identification.

The user may be identified in yet other terms. For example, the user maybe identified based upon the specific items being purchased, or morebroadly, the type of item being purchased.

Further, the user may be identified by a quality factor, that is, someindication as to the perceived quality of the goods the purchaser may beinterested in, such as based upon the initial contact. If the potentialcustomer has contacted the system with respect to a high-end product,the system may classify the caller as one interested in high-end goods.Further, the timing of contact may be utilized to classify a caller. Forexample, a “night owl” who contacts the system after midnight topurchase computer products may be identified differently from a user whocontacts the system at 6:30 in the morning.

As yet another aspect of identification, multiple individual items ofidentification may be combined or otherwise utilized in combination toprovide yet further identification, confirmation or verification ofidentity.

While user identity may be obtained from the particular contact with thesystem, that identity, or further identifying data, may be enteredduring a preliminary or registration phase 306. In such a phase,additional information may be acquired. The data may be acquired inresponse to specific questions, or through an iterative or interactiveapproach.

Optionally, the forms of identification may be used in combination toprovide higher level of specificity, such as to move from a localidentification to a specific customer identification. One mode is toutilize further specific identification, such as initials, or tootherwise designate an identity. Alternatively, or in combination, oncethe suspected specific customer identification is arrived at, this maybe confirmed with the user, e.g., by confirming “Is this John Smith?”.Verification may be utilized, such as through provision of personaldata, or through provision of an electronic signature or other secureand verifiable means of identification.

The identification may be obtained either automatically or in annon-automatic fashion. Automatic collection of identification mayinclude the receipt of ANI information or electronic identification forelectronic commerce or information provision. Non-automatic methods mayinclude data entry, typically in response to prompts, such as throughuse of an interactive voice response unit.

The final aspect of the primary transaction is the completion orconsummation of the primary transaction. In one implementation, theprimary transaction may be completed, such as through consummation of asale or completion of a service call or request. In yet other aspects,the primary transaction may be concluded, though not with the provisionof the originally contemplated good or service. For example, in thecontext of a service contact, if the upsell is successful in providingthe user with a replacement product, the primary transaction need not becompleted. Optionally, at the caller's discretion, the primarytransaction could be completed, such as where a caller does purchase areplacement product, but yet still wishes to obtain service on theproduct which form the basis for the original contact, and for theupsell.

After the primary transaction phase 300, the item selection phase 310 isentered. Within the overall contemplation of the system, it may bedesirable to include a correlation unit 312 for matching one or moreinitial contact designators with yet another designator adapted for usein subsequent processing, such as database access. For example, when acaller's telephone number is obtained, and a specific identificationarrived at, the correlation unit may provide the user's social securitynumber for further access to databases in which that number provides akey or address. By way of example, third party databases may requirespecific forms of identification for accessing the databases, such as acombination of social security number and PIN number and thatinformation may be provided from the correlation unit based upon theidentification data obtained from the user. In this way, differentoutputs may be utilized for accessing third party databases, keyed tothose databases, without requiring the user to excessively inputidentification information. Once the correlation unit has obtainedunique, individual identification, it may provide the other forms ofidentification to yet further databases or other components in thesystem.

The identification of an upsell product or offer is divided into theaspects of identification and obtaining of inputs 300, the upselldetermination 310, the output for subsequent offer 350 and, ifapplicable, order handling 360. As to the inputs for the upselldetermination, they include the identification data 302, describedpreviously. Further, demographic data 316 may be utilized relating tothe user. The demographic data may be obtained from a database and beeither raw data 316′ or analyzed data 316″. Data relating specificallyto the customer 320 may include age, sex, income (either actual orestimated), profession or occupation, education level, family status,e.g., married, divorced, widowed, children, grandchildren, and specificdata relating to them, lifestyle indicators, e.g., active outdoor, etc.,address (specific address, city of residence, county of residence, stateof residence, zip code, zip code plus 4), known interests, knownsubscriptions, known affiliations (e.g., service organization, alumniassociation, fraternal organizations, charitable organizations, etc.).In addition to specific information on users, the user may be associatedwith a code or designator which indicates others of a expected orsuspected similar set of interests or reactions to an upsell. Forexample, the system may identify by code “422” those who are males inthe 35-40 year old age bracket, with incomes in excess of $40,000 peryear, with an interest in computers. That code may then be used as aninput to the upsell selection system.

Credit data 332 may be checked in the course of the primary transaction,as well as in the course of generating inputs or processing for theupsell determination. In one aspect, the credit verification may takeplace in conjunction with a credit verification for the primarytransaction. If the primary transaction is a purchase transaction, thecredit verification may be obtained for the primary transaction, andthen either obtain a specific credit authorization for an amount equalto the expected upsell, or obtain an indication of the amount ofavailable credit remaining. If the amount of available credit remainingis provided, that will provide an indication of the preferably upperbound on the cost of the upsell offer.

For some appropriate types of primary transactions, a fica score orother comparable credit score is used to assess credit risk. A ficascore may also be combined with other data such as loan-to-valuepercentage, home equity, net income, or other factors used to determinecredit risk. Ideally, the factors used by the system will be based uponhistoric data that more clearly identify the level of risk. If it isavailable, a given system may incorporate data obtained from priorcustomers or users of the system, which will reflect the attributesexpected of future customers. A credit risk score may then be assessedand used as an input in processing the upsell determination.

Yet another form of database information includes inventory data 336. Indetermining the items for upsell, the inventory database may beconsulted before, during, or after the upsell determination. The upsellmay discount the offering of a product which is unavailable at thattime. In another aspect, the system may yet still offer the product ifit will become available in a timely manner. As yet a further aspect ofinventory status, a delivery time window may be included, such that ifthe product cannot be obtained from inventory and delivered to thecustomer in a timely manner, that product is not offered as an upsell.

Third party possession 338 databases may be utilized. A manufacturer maymaintain a database which maintains what it believes to be an accuratecount of items possessed by the user, or an intended recipient of thesale or upsell. For example, a seller of china or formal dining servicesmay maintain a database of the number of place settings of a particularpattern owned by a potential recipient of yet further settings orrelated goods. In this way, an input to the upsell determination unitmay include the offer of specific items of merchandise which complete orcompliment existing possessions.

Turning now to the upsell determination 340 or the selection of theproduct or service for offer, generally, the system comprises a multipleinput, dynamic, preferably real-time system for the selection of asuggested product or service to offer to a potential customer or user.The process includes the identification or selection of a set or subsetof all possible goods or services available for offer, with the goal ofoptimizing the likelihood of upsell, as well as achieving customersatisfaction.

In one aspect, the upsell determination system may utilize, in whole orin part, a system which bases the offer of an upsell based upon priorsuccessful upsells. Thus, if a customer is categorized as being in class422 who called a telemarketer to buy product X, and was successfullyupsold product Y, if a later customer in class 422 contacts the system,the past success may be utilized as a factor in again offering theproduct Y to the caller.

Various historical factors relating to a specific customer, or to knownclasses of customers may be utilized. The selection criteria may includenegative decision criteria, such as not trying to upsell a customer onan item that the system knows he has previously purchased, or haspreviously been offered but declined to purchase. Yet another form ofnegative decision criteria consists of not offering as an upsell aproduct which is competitive to the underlying or primary transaction.The competiveness of the primary transaction and the upsell transactionmay be in the nature of different types of goods for the same purpose,such as where the primary transaction relates to a gas barbecue but theupsell transaction relates to a charcoal barbecue. Alternatively, thecompetitive nature may relate to the source of the goods or the sponsorof the call, such as where the primary transaction relates to a firstmerchandiser, but the second or upsell transaction would relate to asecond merchandiser believed to be competitive to the firstmerchandiser. By way of example, if the primary transaction consisted ofa call to LL Bean, the upsell transaction may be subject to a negativecriteria such as to not offer an upsell to Lands End. The negativecriteria constituting the competitive goods or vendors may be defined ina list stored in memory within the system.

In yet another aspect, a negative criteria may consist of adetermination that the caller simply is not a good prospect for apotential upsell. For example, if it is determined by the system thatthe probability of consummating the upsell transaction is less than acertain percent, e.g., 20%, it may not be economically beneficial tocontinue with the interaction with the user. This negative criteria hasparticular applicability where toll or transport charges are incurred bythe sponsor of the system, e.g., such as where a telemarketer pays thecharges for the “toll free” call to the telemarketer. In one form of abusiness model, the sponsor of a primary transaction may be willing topermit an upsell offer to be made, for a fee, upon the completion of theprimary transaction. The fee may be a monetary fee, a service fee, anupsell offer made during a primary transaction of another sponsor, orother consideration. For example, if LL Bean is the sponsor of theprimary transaction portion of the call to a telemarketer or a contactto a website, they may be willing to permit an upsell offer to be madeon behalf of another vendor in return for a fee. Considered in light ofthe negative decision criteria, if the cost of the fee to offer theupsell paid to the sponsor of the primary transaction exceeds theprobability weighted return to the sponsor of the upsell, the negativedecision criteria may suggest to forego the upsell offer with regard tothat user or caller. To provide a specific example, if the sponsor ofthe potential upsell must pay the sponsor of the primary transaction$3.00 for the opportunity to offer an upsell to the customer of theprimary transaction vendor, and if the return for a consummated upselltransaction is $10.00, if the probability of consummating the upsell isless than 30%, the negative decision criteria may be set such that theupsell is not made, or that an alternative upsell is offered.

In yet another implementation of a negative criteria, a list may beobtained or generated which comprises a list of potential customers towhom no offer is to be made. The negative criteria may relate to theupsell transaction, or more generally, to both the primary transactionand necessarily, the upsell transaction. Such a list might consist ofcustomers who have exhibited high historical rates of return ofmerchandise, or who have engaged in illegal or fraudulent activity inthe past.

With regard to the negative decision criteria, various actions arepossible. One option is to block the call or contact such that thecaller or user never is able to even initially access the system. Yetanother action may consist of shortening the call so as to terminate theinteraction earlier than would otherwise be expected.

In yet another aspect of an upsell transaction, it may occur that acaller or Internet user has requested to be included on a “do not call(or contact)” list. When a person contacts the system and is identifiedas being on such a list, it may be desirable to offer them the good,service or information that the vendor is otherwise precluded fromoffering. By way of example, a person may have requested to be on a donot call list regarding long distance phone service solicitations.Should that person call or contact a system for a primary transaction,and is then identified as a person on a do not call list, the vendor whois precluded from contacting the potential customer may pay a premiumfor the chance to upsell their service to the potential customer.

The system may utilize prior purchases as a factor in determining theupsell for offer. Prior purchases may indicate areas of interest,suggesting the offer of further goods within that general area ofinterest. For example, a customer who has previously purchased clothingfor use in mountain biking may be more susceptible to an offer formountain bike related goods or services. In a similar vein, theme salesmay be utilized. When it is known that the customer has previouslypurchased a portion of a set, the completion of the set may be a goal.Certain theme sales are based on periodic introduction of a new item,such as a yearly addition of a tree ornament or the like.

Other factors affecting the upsell may include inputs comprising areasof interest, such as based upon known subscriptions, prior contact ofthe user to other sites, such as other Internet sites may be utilized bythe system to determine a user's possible interests, and therefore,their susceptibility to the upsell of particular goods or services. Yetanother aspect of basing the upsell selection on prior purchases mayinclude upgrades to prior purchases. For example, where the systemdetermines that the user has previously purchased a computer of a givenmake and model, the system may offer as an upsell a good or serviceparticularly adapted to improve the performance of the system of theuser, such as provision of additional memory, or other modifiedcomponent. Similarly, if a user is known to have a given version ofsoftware, the system may elect to offer a new version of the software.Obsolescence of prior purchases may be determined. This may be from thepassage of time, updating of a product, or outgrowing of a priorpurchase.

Yet other facts affecting an upsell may include relative considerations.For example, relative proximity to key calendared dates 318 for theuser, or others associated with the user, may be incorporated. Therelationship of traditional gift giving days to the date of contact maybe utilized. Examples would include proximity to known birth dates,Christmas, Hanukkah, anniversaries, Valentines Day, etc. Further, familyor relationship status may be utilized, such as offers of products forpurchase for children, grandchildren, or others with whom there is aknown established relationship.

The frequency of the upsell may be varied based upon expectedreceptiveness to the upsell at that time. Certain users may, throughpast particular experience with that user or through assumeddesirability based upon studies of others, may determine the frequencywith which upsells should be offered, whether to offer an upsell everytime there is a contact, every other time, only in association withcertain days or date (such as pay days), etc. The frequency may also bedecreased if the user has manifested a lack of receptiveness to theoffers in the past, or to a certain type or class of offer.

Multiple upsell items 326 may be utilized. In the telemarketing context,the telemarketer may have displayed to them multiple options, either forselection by the telemarketer, or for sequential presentation to thecaller. In the electronic commerce context, multiple offers may be madesuch as on a screen, or provided sequentially to the caller.

The third main component of the upsell consists of the actual offer 350of the upsell to the user. In the event of a telemarketing upsell offer,the typical mode would include a display on the telemarketers screen ofvarious script or product information 354, which is then provided to thecaller. FIG. 8 shows a representative screen for a telemarketer display.The display 270 may include script 272 for use by the telemarketer forinteraction with the caller. Specific upsell scripts 274 may beprovided, either as a single option for the telemarketer, or to providemultiple options for selection by the telemarketer. Soft keys or icons276 provide for selective identification of entry by the telemarketer.Various text or numeric based fields 280, 282 may be provided for entryof information, such as order entry, and specifically includingidentification data 280 and address data 282. This data may be initiallyprovided automatically from the system, for possible confirmation by thetelemarketer, or may be initially input by the telemarketer. Optionally,if image information is provided during the transaction, image 278 maybe depicted on the display 270. By way of example, if a video phonesystem is utilized, the image of the caller may be displayed.Additionally, or alternatively, if image or video is provided from thetelemarketer to the customer, those images may also appear on thetelemarketer's screen 270 in region 278 to provide the telemarketer thesame (though possibly in reduced size such as a picture-in-picture)which is simultaneously being provided to the customer. An order entryicon, tab or button bar 284 may be utilized.

By way of further example, the offer may be presented to the user bymodes of communication other than those utilized for the primarytransaction. For example, if the primary transaction is conducted bytelephone, the upsell offer may be presented by a wireless device suchas a personal digital assistant (PDA), cellular/wireless telephone, orother device. As another example, if the primary transaction isconducted by an internet web connection, television/internet connection,interactive television, or similar mode, the upsell offer may bepresented by telephone. All other combinations of modes of communicationare also possible, including e-mail, facsimile, cable contact, andothers that are described herein or otherwise known in the art.

The mode or manner of the offer 352 to the customer may also be varied.The customer's prior history or a determined optimum mode or manner ofoffer based upon customer designation may be utilized. Certain customersor customer designations may be best offered the upsell in abusiness-like, straight-forward manner, e.g., “We have a special offerfor you today . . . ”. Other potential customers who have manifestedless than an eagerness to be upsold in the past may be initiallyaddressed with a message of an apologetic tone, e.g., “I know you to nottypically consider other times, but we have something that we think youwill find worth your time to consider . . . ”. Yet other presentationsmay be in a more elaborate or flowery manner, such as in the addition ofmusic, other audio, images, video. The coded designators, or other dataregarding the user, may be used in determining the mode or manner of theoffer.

If the upsell is consummated 356, the order may be confirmed. Thatconfirmation may be printed, if desired. Further, the customer may beprovided with a confirmation number. If a shipping/tracking unit 364 isutilized, the tracking information, and the mode of accessing thatsystem, may be provided to the customer. In the event the upsell offeris not consummated, the user may be offered an alternative upsell 358.The alternative upsell may be determined before the initial upsell, ormay be recomputed, wherein one of the inputs to the determination systemincludes the negative result from the first upsell offer. Optionally,the customer may be queried regarding their reaction, either positive ornegative, with respect to the initial upsell offer, so as to provide yetfurther specific inputs to the upsell determination system.

The system may be modified over time. For example, the success of priorupsells of specific items may be further incorporated in the decision asto the upsell offers 370. This modification of the rules over time maybe either done in real time, or on a periodic basis, such as in a batchmode. Further, the system may receive data from users after the receiptand use of their obtained goods or services, such as wherein thecustomer satisfaction with the goods and services is then incorporatedin the decision criteria for the upsell offer.

FIG. 7 shows a flowchart for one possible path through the system. Uponreceiving an initial contact 230, the transaction type may be determinedat step 232. Various identification determinations 234 may be collectedand then used in determining whether any limitations 236 are to beapplied, which if not, the transaction may then be conducted at step238. Optionally, a credit check 240 may be performed, either for theprimary transaction alone, or further, for a potential upsell. Theinputs having been collected 242 from prior interaction, database checks244 may contact and interact with database A 246, database B 248, . . .database N 250, possibly under control when coaction 252 is required.The inputs having been collected are then provided 254 to the system.Optional inventory checks 256 may be performed and then utilized step258 to determine if the potential upsell item is available. Once theupsell has been determined, the upsell may be offered in step 260, whichif purchased at step 262 may then be confirmed and sent to orderfulfillment step 264. Optionally, further items may be offered, step266, in which case the upsell determination may be repeated, or thepreviously determined second upsell item offered. Typically at the endof the transaction, at step 268 the system will update various databasesas appropriate and the upsell system, including the criteria fordetermining the upsell.

In the offering mode of the website, one variation may include theability to transfer from the website to a live operator. Such a transfermay be useful wherein the potential customer is interested in obtainingfurther information regarding the offered product, or has queries whichcannot easily be addressed in a web or electronic commerce context. Asdescribed in connection with the telemarketing screen, FIG. 8, thescreen for the electronic commerce applications may include a display ofthe live operator, and may also include a display on the live operatorconsole of the customer, if desired.

With regard to the billing system, in one aspect of this invention, itis possible to allocate billing 368 for use of the system. For example,if the primary transaction is financed by company A, and an upsell inthe economic interest of company B is successfully effected,piggy-backing on the primary transaction of company A, an accord orallocation may be made between company B and company A regarding paymentfor the services. Typically, company B would make a contribution tocompany A, or in some manner reduce the cost for company A to conductthe primary transaction. Consistent with the allocation of expensesbetween two or more companies, it should be expressly noted that in theupsell system of this invention, the goods or services offered may comefrom independent sources. That is, the primary transaction may relate toa good or service from company A, and the upsell relate to a good orservice from company B, where company A is unaffiliated with company B.

FIG. 9 shows a highly simplified depiction of a display such as used inone implementation of a electronic commerce application utilizing theinventions of this system. The overall display 400 may include textualinformation 402 identifying the affiliation of the provider of the goodor service. A graphical depiction 404 of the good or service may beprovided, which is either a still image or includes motion. Informationregarding features 406 may be provided as well as may be the terms 408of sale, lease or other interchange. Optionally, a display 410 providesa video feed such as from a telemarketing or other operator assistingthe user, or provides a created image regarding a assistant for thetransaction. Speakers 412 may be optionally utilized to provide audioinformation, either being one-way communication or two-waycommunication. Typically, some sort of a pointer 414 is displayed onscreen 400 to designate the area of data for entry. For example, anacceptance 422 region may be clicked, or double clicked as required, toaccept an offer. Optionally, an electronic coupon 420 or other form ofcoupon may be provided to the user in a real time manner for later use.The coupon may be for a discount on a later purchase, or may otherwisebe a form of incentive to the customer, such as the award of creditswhich may be accumulated for exchange into other goods or services.

FIG. 10 shows a high level flowchart for a customer service operation.Upon customer contact 430, the purpose of the call 432 may bedetermined. The purpose may be determined such as from knowledge of DNISas indicating a customer service number, or by response by the customerto queries, such as from a live operator or interactive voice responsesystem (e.g., press 1 for purchase, press 2 for service . . . ).Decision block 434 optionally provides a preliminary assessment of thelikelihood of interest in an upsell or alternative presentation. In theevent an offer is to be made, checks such as a credit check 436 or otherdatabase check 438 may be made. The input data is then provided to aprocessing, upsell system (as described previously) from which analternative 442 may be generated and offered. The system may optionallythen solicit consummation of the transaction 444, and may, if required,again access for credit determination 446. In the event that it isperceived at decision block 434 that no interest exists in an upsell,the system may continue with the call as originated 440. By way ofexample, assume that a user calls a service number regarding anintegrated cellular phone and paging system. The system may obtain theANI (or mobile identification number) and determine based upon the DNISthat a particular customer is calling a service number. After optionallyconfirming that the call relates to the repair of the phone/pagerassociated with the ANI or MIN, the system may determine that thisproduct is sufficiently old that an upsell should be offered for areplacement item. By accessing a database, such as the cellular systemslocal database, it may be determined that the caller has a nowsupplanted model of phone, and possesses sufficient credit worthiness topurchase a new system. At that point, the system may offer the caller apurchase option for the replacement item, thereby effecting an upsellfrom one transaction type, namely, a service contact, into a separatetype of transaction, such as a purchase transaction of a replacement orsuperior item. In this way, an upsell is effected.

FIG. 11 shows a perspective view of a wireless system which utilizesposition information in a potential upsell or intelligent informationselection application. A wireless unit may be operated by a user, shownwithin the automobile. The wireless device communicates with an antenna.The signal from the wireless unit sends identification information, suchas a mobile identification number (MIN). Additionally, positioninformation such as from a GPS receiver may be provided. Combinedcellular and GPS systems may be utilized. Yet other position detectionsystems may be utilized, such as triangulation based systems. As shown,a billboard may provide advertisement information and prompt the callerto dial a telephone number or code, e.g., *72, for further information.A response to the inquiry may utilize the identification information,such as the MIN, as described within this application and utilize thatinformation to intelligently select a good, service or other informationfor presentation to the user. By way of example, certain vehicles arecurrently equipped with systems which place an outgoing wireless call toa service, but also provide position information regarding the caller.One such system is the OnStar system which may be activated either bythe caller depressing a button which causes the preprogrammed dialing ofthe number corresponding to the service, as well as to providegeographic GPS information. Alternatively, the system is designed toautomatically call the service in the event of an accident, such aswould be indicated by the deployment of a safety system, such as theairbags deploying. Such a contact to a service identifies both thecalling vehicle (e.g., through use of the MIN) plus provides geographyinformation, and optionally, provides information regarding the statusof the call, e.g., was the call initiated by the caller or automaticallyactivated because of a safety based call. Some or all of thatinformation may be utilized in a automated system, with or without theadditional use of live operators, to select information, goods orservices for presentation to the potential customer. For example, if thecall were automatically initiated because of airbag deployment, thesystem could utilize that information, optionally with other informationkeyed to the identity of the user, such as hotel preferences to selectan offer a hotel based upon the assumption that they would reside inthat geography for the night. Rather than merely providing arecommendation untailored to the particular caller, the use of theidentification information coupled with knowledge about that caller andtheir circumstance may lead to a better selection of good, service orinformation.

Considering wireless devices more broadly, a customer utilizing awireless device, such as a cellular phone, Palm Pilot VII, or otherwireless communication or web access device, may provide geographicposition information regarding the user of the system. That informationmay be obtained via global positioning satellite (GPS) information, ormay be taken from a knowledge of the base station position. In the wireddomain, the geographic position information may be obtained at variouslevels of granularity, such as through the use of area code information,or more specifically, exchange information, or yet even moreparticularly, through the use of various databases which map telephonenumbers to specific geographies, such as a caller's street address. Thegeographic position of the user may be determined via an access point toa system, such as where a customer utilizes an automated teller machine(ATM) on a network. The geographic position of the user is known basedupon their interaction with the network. By way of example, a personaccessing an ATM network is identified by information read from themagnetic strip of the bankcard (or provided by a smart card typetechnology). The identification is of both the customer and of theirbank. The bank knows the geographic location of the ATM. From thisinformation, it may be inferred that the customer is outside of theirordinary geography, and presumptively on a trip. In certaincircumstances, it may be safe to assume that the user is on vacation,such as where the ATM is located at a resort location or entertainmentfacility. That information may be utilized by an intelligent system toprovide goods, service or information to the user, such as to providecoupons to the ATM user for a free children's meal.

The geographic information may be utilized in combination with otherinformation in determining an offer or upsell. By way of example, thesystem may know the position of a potential user of a good or servicebased upon position information from a GPS system, and may utilize thatinformation in offering a good or service, such as a discount coupon, ata geographically local store. Such an offer may be made as the result ofa caller contacting the system, or may be provided in an outbound orpush based context where the system contacts the potential user of theoffer, such as by calling their cellular phone or other wireless device.The geographic position information may additionally be combined withdata or information regarding the geography of the person. For example,if the positional information indicates that the person is in a casinoat midnight, it may be a valid assumption to assume that the person isnot risk averse.

FIG. 12 shows a on-screen programming guide on a display and a inputdevice, such as a remote control. The on-screen programming guidetypically includes a display as a function of time and channel.Ordinarily, the program guide displays programming from the current timeforward for a number of hours. Channel information is displayed eithersimultaneously or in a scrolling manner. Within the contemplation ofthis system, the on-screen programming guide may provide inputinformation into the decision system, such as by receiving an indicationof a program which is selected, or is being considered. The user inputdevice, such as the remote control, may provide position control of acursor or other marker on the on-screen display. Alternatively, directentry of data by the user on the pad of the remote control, or from amore fully functional keyboard may be utilized. Preferably, infraredcommunication between the remote control and the television or displayincluding the on-screen programming guide is utilized.

By way of example, if a viewer selects a Pay-Per-View sports event, thatselection may be used as an input to the system as described generallyin this application which then results in the selection and offer ofanother good, service or set of information for the potential customer.Continuing with the example of an order for a Pay-Per-View sportingevent, the system may determine, through the various methods describedherein, to offer the viewer a series of entertainment events, such as aseasonal football schedule. The input device for such an onscreenprogramming guide application in the upsell context could be a remotecontrol operated by the viewer.

According to various embodiments of the invention, the method cancomprise at least the following steps, summarized in FIG. 13, which is aflowchart illustrating an example process flow provided by theinvention. Communication is established via the communications devicebetween the user and the system to facilitate a primary transactioninvolving at least one specific item selected by the user (block 110).Primary transaction data relating to the primary transaction isobtained, with the primary transaction data including data representingan identity of the user and the item involved in the primary transaction(block 112). At least a second data element relating to the user isobtained using the data representing the identity of the user (block114). The method then analyzes the second data element and the datarepresenting the specific item to determine whether to offer upselltransactions to the user (block 116).

FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating additional, optimal processing thatthe invention can perform. According to additional embodiments of theinvention, the method can also include the number of upsell transactionsto offer to the user is identified using at least the data representingthe item and the second data element if upsells are to be offered to theuser, the method can include identifying at least one specific upselltransaction to offer the user, with the identification process using atleast the data representing the item and the second data element asinput (block 120). The upsell transaction can then be offered to theuser, either in an appropriate electronic format or by verbalpresentation by a human agent (block 122). The offered upselltransaction can then be accepted or declined by the user (block 124).

The method can include identifying any number of specific upselltransactions to offer the user, including zero upsell transactions. Forexample, an analysis of the second data element and the identity of theuser may reveal that no possible upsell transaction has a reasonablygood probability of being accepted, and that the most prudent course fora given user currently conducting a given primary transaction is not tooffer any upsell transaction at all. For example, the cost of proceedingwith the upsell transaction may exceed the profit or return expectedfrom offering the upsell transaction. More specifically, if theprobability of the upsell being accepted times the expected profit ofthe upsell is less than the cost of offering the upsell, (connect time,agent processing time, etc.) then the upsell may be a losing propositionand not worth offering. In other embodiments of the invention, themethod can include identifying one or more specific upsell transactionsto offer to the user. Those skilled in the art will thus recognize thatthe processing represented by blocks 120, 122, and 124 may or may not beperformed in each transaction processed by the invention.

FIG. 15 is a block diagram illustrating the sources of various inputs tothe upsell system components 70. The method can obtain the primarytransaction data by obtaining at least one identifier that uniquelyidentifies the user, for example, by obtaining a voice print or otherbiometric data associated with the user and using this voice print orbiometric data to establish the identity of the user (block 134). In thevoice print example, the user's voice print can be analyzed using knownspeech recognition software to build a model of the user's voice, withthis model serving as an index used to access a database of previouslystored voice models associated with various users. A voice printcorresponding to the given user can be located, for example, bycomparing the voice print to voice prints in the database, and accessingthe second data element based upon that comparison. Once the user'sidentity is established, the method can obtain the second data elementusing the voice print, with the second data element being, for example,data representing the user's previous purchases and behavior.

To facilitate the method of the invention, the identity of the user mustbe determined in order to obtain information related to that specificuser or to obtain modeling information derived from similarly situatedusers. Accordingly, in other embodiments of the invention, obtaining theprimary transaction data can include obtaining a unique identifierrelated to the specific communications device or hardware associatedwith the user (block 131). For example, the method might obtain a uniqueidentifier for a wireless device used by the user to conduct remotecommerce, such as a unique serial number associated with a particularcellular phone. Example devices may including at least one of thefollowing: a set-top television box, a remote control used inconjunction with such a set-top box or with the television itselfwithout a set-top box, a wireless telephone, or a personal digitalassistant coupled and enabled to communicate over a wireless network.Other examples of hardware suitable for conducting and/or transmittingupsell transactions include devices operating under the Short MessageService (SMS) standard, which enables users to exchange shortalphanumeric messages over devices such as pages, mobile phones, PDAs,or the like. These embodiments are discussed in more detail below.

In other embodiments of the method, obtaining primary transaction datacan include customer identification number from a tangible itempresented by the user when conducting the primary transaction (block132). For example, the method might obtain primary transaction data byaccessing data from a physical card presented by the user at a kiosk orcheck-out counter in a retail environment, such as a grocery store, homeimprovement warehouse, or other types of commercial environments. Commonexamples of suitable cards are customer loyalty, identification (ID), orcustomer care cards issued to selected customers by stores, which cardsmay store customer-specific data in the form of magnetic strips or barcodes, which may in turn be scanned-in at the kiosk or check-out counterusing optical or other suitable equipment. Once the customer isidentified using this data, the customer's identity may be used as atleast part of the input to the upsell determination process. Thecustomer can then be offered upsells through the kiosk or otherequipment, preferably in real time with the primary transaction.

Further embodiments of the method obtain the primary transaction data byprocessing files residing on the user's computer system and beingassociated with web browser or other software running or residing on thecomputer system (block 133). Such files are commonly referred to as“cookies” in the art, and typically store data associated with the userin text or other formats. The files can be used to obtain either theprimary transaction data or the second data element used as inputs tothe upsell determination process. Specifically, the files may containinformation directly identifying the user, or the files may containclick-stream data or other browser history data identifying those websites visited by the user. Also, the user's login/password informationmay be stored on the system, which information can in turn be processedif necessary as input to the upsell system components 70. Thisclick-stream or history data may indicate areas of interest to the user,and analysis of this data may help guide the upsell determinationprocess toward one or more optimum upsell offers.

Elaborating further on the embodiments mentioned above regarding set-toptelevision boxes (shown as part of block 131), various aspects of themethod contemplate establishing communication with the user via hardwareadapted to process television signals from a network and converting theminto a format suitable for viewing by the user. Common examples of suchhardware might include converters, decoders, de-scramblers, or otherhardware having similar functionality that may be used with broadcast,cable, or satellite-based communications systems, including for exampletelevision systems. Other embodiments of the invention include suchhardware that is separately and uniquely addressable. For example, knownaddressable converters enable cable television subscribers to viewpay-per-view events transmitted over the cable television network. Afterthe subscriber has paid the fee to view the event, the network can senda signal to the subscriber's uniquely addressable converter that enablesthe viewer to watch the event.

The instant invention can be extended to operate in the above context bycapitalizing on the ability of such uniquely-addressable hardware toidentify the subscriber/user, while also supporting the capture andtracking of viewing habits and other behavior of the subscriber/user.For example, the user may conduct the primary transaction via thesatellite, cable, or interactive television network, rather than thetelephone-based embodiments described elsewhere. In this application ofthe invention, the method could identify the user by determining theidentity of the uniquely-addressable hardware that the subscriber/useris using to conduct the transaction. For example, the network mayassociate a unique serial number or other identifier corresponding toeach uniquely-addressable hardware item distributed to receptivesubscribers. By accessing this serial number or other unique identifieras stored by the network, the method can identify the user correspondingto this identifier without requiring the user to identifyhimself/herself. Once obtained in this manner, the identity of the usercan be fed as input to the upsell determination process in the samemanner as discussed elsewhere in the instant application. The identifierassociated with the set-top box can also be used to obtain the seconddata element used as further input to the upsell determination process.The upsell transaction identified by the upsell determination processfor offer can then be presented to the user via a network, for example,a satellite television network, and the user can accept the offeredupsell transaction using the same network.

In this embodiment of the invention, the user can conduct one or moreprimary transactions via the television network, with the methodoperating to recommend appropriate upsell transactions to the user. Theterm “primary transaction” as used in the context of this applicationwill be understood to include but not be limited to the following typesof activities conducted using the television network: purchases of goodsand/or services; viewing of television shows, events, movies,“infomercials,” or other subject matter; playing of interactive games orother forms entertainment supported by the television network; orinquiries about good and/or services advertised or otherwise featuredvia the television network. In addition to the definition of “upsell”given above, the term “upsell transaction” will be understood toinclude, but not be limited to, the following activities that may berelated in some manner to the subject matter of the primary transaction:offers to purchase or otherwise obtain goods and services; suggestions,offers, and/or discounts related to viewing television shows and/ormovies; offers to apply for credit card accounts or other financialinstruments; or coupons, promotions, or other advertisements targetedbased on the user's identity, viewing habits, and past behavior.

For example, a user may inquire about or order memorabilia associatedwith the American Civil War via a television network after viewing anadvertisement or infomercial relating to that subject matter. The methodcould then operate to recommend a movie, documentary, or othertelevision show relating to history in general, or to the American CivilWar in particular. As another example, the above scenario may play outin reverse: the viewer may watch a historical documentary, and in turnthe method may identify and offer an advertisement or discount relatingto the subject matter of the documentary. As yet another example, theuser may use an interactive television service to order a movie orpay-per-view event for viewing, and the method may then identify andoffer a promotion or discount coupon for a local pizza delivery service.Those skilled in the art will recognize that these examples serve merelyto illustrate various aspects of the invention, but do not limit thescope of possible applications for the invention as described herein.

Various aspects of the invention also contemplate using internet-basedcommunication technologies such as e-mail, or messaging technologiessupported by web browsers, such as the Instant Messenger™ technologyoffered by ICQ.com, America OnLine, Inc. and others. Specifically, themethod can include offering the upsell transaction using browser-basedmessenger technology, and receiving an acceptance from the user usingbrowser-based messenger technology. This messenger technology can beimplemented using any suitable technology, such as SMS, person-to-personnetworking protocols, IP networking, or the like.

As noted above, the method can include generating zero or more possibleupsell transaction for offer to the user. Along these same lines,various aspects of the method can also include selecting zero or more ofthe generated upsell transactions to offer to the user. This selectionprocess can be done by either an automated process or by a live humanoperator, either of which can in turn present the selected upselltransaction(s) to the user.

Various aspects of the method include obtaining the second data elementused as part of the input to the upsell determination process from avariety of sources, including obtaining information related to a surveytaken by the user, or a registration completed by the user (block 135).The method can analyze the survey responses or the registrationinformation as the second data element related to the user for thepurposes of determining what, if any, upsell transaction(s) to offer tothe user. The terms “survey” and “registration” as used herein refer toany information provided by the user in response to an interactivequestion-and-answer questionnaire or any other type ofinformation-gathering method utilized by a merchant or otherinformation-gathering entity. Common, but non-limiting, examples mightinclude warranty registration cards that are completed and returned bythe user after purchasing consumer goods at retail outlets, bridal orother types of gift registries established to facilitate or organizegift-giving related to certain occasions, or electronic orinternet-based versions of the above. Surveys or registrations thatgather information related to factors such as user's demographicprofile, financial/employment data, outside interests or the like, maybe particularly useful for providing the second data element used in theupsell determination process, which in turn can identify the upselltransaction(s) to be offered the user by analyzing data provided by theuser when completing the survey or registration.

Turning briefly to FIG. 16, a block diagram illustrating severalnon-limiting examples of various outputs generated by the upsell systemcomponents 70, in other embodiments of the invention, the method caninclude offering the user as an upsell transaction an opportunity toparticipate in a survey or to complete a registration of some type,possibly in exchange for an incentive to be received by the user (block141). The entity receiving the information resulting from the survey orregistration may provide the incentive to the user, either directly orthrough an intermediary.

Returning to FIG. 15, other embodiments of the invention consider thegeographic location of the user when determining which, if any upselltransaction(s) to offer the user (block 136). In these embodiments,obtaining the indexing data includes at least in part obtaining thegeographic location from which the user is conducting the primarytransaction. For example, where the user is dialing a call center on aPublic Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) or a wireless network, thenumber of the handset from which the caller is originating the call canbe made available using known ANI technology, or variations on thistechnology as appropriate to support wireless callers. The originatingtelephone number can then be run against known databases, including butnot limited to those available from Targusinfo to identify a geographiclocation corresponding to that originating telephone number. As anotherexample, if the user is using a set-top television box to conduct theprimary transaction, the physical location of the box itself can beobtained, typically via the network connecting the box to the entitywith which the user is transacting. For wireless callers using mobilehandsets or calling from vehicle-based originating sets (for example,the OnStar™ system offered by General Motors and other automobilemanufacturers), the satellite communications network supporting suchcalls can often pinpoint the caller's approximate, and possibly exact,physical location as the call progresses.

Referring to FIG. 16, once the location of the user is established,offering the upsell transaction can include offering the user tickets,discounts, coupons, or promotions related to merchants or events basedupon or near the user's geographic location (block 142). As non-limitingexamples, the merchants or events can include theaters, concerts,sporting events, stores, restaurants, or the like.

Other embodiments of the invention may find application in the contextof Automated Teller Machines (ATMs). In these embodiments, the userestablishes communication with the system via a banking/financialnetwork, thereby enabling the user to conduct, as the primarytransaction, a financial transaction (withdrawal, deposit, balanceinquiry, etc.) at an ATM machine located at the user's geographiclocation. The method then can offer an upsell transaction based on thegeographic location of the user when accessing the ATM. In additionalembodiments, the method of identifying the upsell transaction caninclude determining that the geographic location of the user whenaccessing the ATM is different than a “home” location associated withthe user (block 137 of FIG. 15). This circumstance may suggest that theuser is on vacation or holiday, or is on a business trip, and the methodcan factor-in this circumstance when offering the upsell transaction(block 143 in FIG. 16). For example, the offered upsell transaction maybe more related to tourist or travel activities than if the user werecloser to his/her home location, and for example, may be more directedto tourist attractions, travel discounts, lodging, entertainment, localevents, or the like. The method can, but does not necessarily,facilitate operation of these embodiments of the invention by a businessrelationship with chambers-of-commerce or similar organizations in thearea local to the ATM accessed by the user.

Other embodiments of the invention include establishing communicationvia a first communications medium to conduct the primary transaction andoffering the upsell transaction via a second communication medium thatis different from the first communication medium. As a non-limitingexample, the method can enable the user to establish communication withthe system via an internet web page to conduct the primary transaction,and can offer the upsell transaction by sending data or signalsrepresenting the upsell transaction via a wireless communicationsnetwork to a handheld device associated with the user. More generally,the method can include establishing communication and conducting theprimary transaction via a first communications network, and thenoffering the upsell transaction via a second communications network.

Referring to block 144 in FIG. 16, other embodiments of the inventionmay find application in a commercial point-of-sale (POS) environment,for example, in a consumer/retail or in a business-to-business warehouseenvironment. In these embodiments, the user can establish communicationwith the upsell system by interacting with a device located at thecommercial establishment. These devices could be located at a checkoutcounter, or distributed throughout the aisles of the establishment. As anon-limiting example, this embodiment of the invention could be deployedin a retail home improvement warehouse to ensure that the user hasobtained all parts and equipment necessary to complete a given project,as well as recommending or offering other upsell transactions based onthe user's interest in the given project. In this example, obtaining thesecond data element can include obtaining a list of items that the userhas previously purchased, and the method can identify the upselltransaction by analyzing the list of previously purchased items. Morespecifically, the method can compare the list of items previouslypurchased by the user to a list of items related to item involved in theprimary transaction, and identify which items the user needs for aproject that he/she has not purchased before. The method can thenidentify which items the user needs to complete the project related tothe primary transaction and offer those items as upsell transactions.This aspect of the method may be particularly advantageous forpreventing the user from making duplicate purchases of the same item fordifferent projects, as well as ensuring that the user need only make onetrip to acquire all of the items necessary to complete a given project.

Additional embodiments of the method can include offering the upselltransaction via a paper receipt issued to the user after the usercompletes a purchase of goods and/or services. In these embodiments, themethod can identify the upsell transaction by analyzing a geographiclocation of the user before offering the upsell transaction to the user,and can offer an upsell transaction related to a merchant near the uservia the paper receipt issued to the user after the primary transactionis complete. In other embodiments, the method can identify the upselltransaction by analyzing the subject matter to which the primarytransaction pertains, and can offer the user via the paper receipt anupsell transaction to another merchant for subject matter that may berelated to the subject matter of the primary transaction. In any ofthese embodiments, the user may accept the offered upsell transaction bypresenting the paper receipt in-person at a merchant establishment.

Various embodiments of the invention also include using the method toidentify at least one application for a new financial account to beoffered to the user as an upsell transaction (block 145 of FIG. 16).Illustrative types of new financial accounts might include new creditcard accounts, new debit card accounts, credit lines, new loans of anytype, insurance policies, or the like. If the subject matter of theprimary transaction conducted with the user suggests that the user hasan interest in a specific area, further embodiments of the invention cantailor the financial account offered as the upsell transactionaccordingly. Also, if for whatever reason, the user's credit card failsto authorize as payment for the primary transaction, the method canoffer an application for the new application as an upsell. For example,if the primary transaction pertains to home improvement, homerenovation, purchase of new appliances, or the like, the method mayoffer as a new financial account a home equity credit line or a secondmortgage product that may be of interest to the user in financing theprimary transaction or other similar transactions. As another example,if the primary transaction pertains to memorabilia, souvenirs, or if theuser otherwise manifests an interest in a specific area (sports,history, politics, schools, alumni associations, or the like), then themethod may offer as an upsell transaction a financial account having atheme corresponding to, benefiting, or otherwise relating to thatspecific area. Non-limiting examples of these types of financialaccounts include credit cards bearing sports team logos, endowments ortrusts benefiting an academic institution or charity, offers tocontribute to or join historical societies or historical preservationorganizations, or the like.

Referring to block 146 in FIG. 16, other embodiments of the methodinclude associating the primary transaction with the new financialaccount, as described in co-pending patent application Ser. No.10/157,522, METHODS, SYSTEMS, AND COMPUTER READABLE MEDIA FOR CREATINGAND PROCESSING PENDING TRANSACTIONS ASSOCIATED WITH APPLICATIONS FORFINANCIAL ACCOUNTS, filed on May 29, 2002 and Ser. No. 10/186,214,METHODS, SYSTEMS, AND COMPUTER READABLE MEDIA FOR CREATING ANDPROCESSING PENDING TRANSACTIONS ASSOCIATED WITH APPLICATIONS FORFINANCIAL ACCOUNTS, filed on Jun. 28, 2002. Each of these applicationsis incorporated herein by this reference. Specifically, in thoseembodiments of the method that offer as an upsell a new financialaccount, if this financial account can facilitate payment for theprimary transaction (a new credit card or other type of charge account,for example), these embodiments of the method can charge the primarytransaction to that new financial account, thereby associating theprimary transaction with the application for the new financial accountas a “pending” transaction against that new account.

The term “pending” is used in the context of this application to referto the temporary status of the primary transaction while the applicationfor the new financial account is processed for ultimate approval ordenial. If the application is approved, the “pending” transaction isprocessed fully as the first transaction logged against the new account.The pending transaction will then be reported on the account statementwhen the latter is issued in due course. If the transaction is denied,the “pending” transaction is never fully processed because there is nounderlying account against which to process it. The “pending”transaction can be ultimately dispositioned in a number of differentways: by simply abandoning it without ever finalizing or processing itand notifying the user of the same; by obtaining an alternative meansfor payment from the user during the primary transaction, and resortingto that alternative means after the application is rejected; or byobtaining the alternative means for payment from the user during afollow-up contact with the user and charging the primary/“pending”transaction to the alternative means.

The invention also provides a program storage device 129 (see FIG. 13)readable by a computer or other machine, embodying a program ofinstructions executable by the machine to perform the various aspects ofthe method as discussed and claimed herein, and as illustrated in theFigures, for performing the various functional aspects of the method asset forth herein. Generally speaking, the program storage device 129 canbe implemented using any technology based upon materials having specificmagnetic, optical, or semiconductor properties that render them suitablefor storing computer data, whether such technology involves eithervolatile or non-volatile storage media. Specific examples of such mediacan include, but are not limited to, magnetic hard or floppy disksdrives, optical drives or CD-ROMs, and any memory technology based onsemiconductors or other materials, whether implemented as read-only orrandom access memory. In short, this embodiment of the invention mayreside either on a medium directly addressable by the computer'sprocessor (main memory, however implemented) or on a medium indirectlyaccessible to the processor (secondary storage media such as hard diskdrives, tape drives, CD-ROM drives, floppy drives, or the like).Consistent with the above teaching, program storage device 129 can beaffixed permanently or removably to a bay, socket, connector, or otherhardware provided by the cabinet, motherboard, or other component of agiven computer system.

For the purpose of conciseness, and in the interest of avoiding undueduplication of elements in the drawings, only FIG. 13 shows the programstorage device 129. However, those skilled in the art will recognizethat an application program stored on program storage device 129 couldimplement all functionality illustrated in any of the drawings ordiscussed anywhere in the description.

Portable Media Embodiments

FIG. 17 is a block diagram illustrating various aspects of the inventionthat provide systems 1700 for recording data representing one or moreoffered items 1704 onto a medium 1702 that is pre-recorded with content,such as an entertainment feature or event. Illustrative embodiments ofthese systems 1700 can comprise means 1706 for receiving data 1707 thatidentifies specific viewers 1708. Suitable examples of receiving means1706 can include a manually-operated data entry interface such as akeyboard or keypad, a card reader, an optical scanner, or the like. Anyof these receiving means 1706 may be operated either by employees of abusiness establishment or by viewers or customers 1708 themselves in aself-service environment. Further embodiments of the receiving means1706 can comprise, at least in part, an Internet website with whichrespective viewers 1708 can interact to research and select respectivetitles of the media 1702 for viewing. The identification data 1707obtained using any of these receiving means 1706 can take any formsuitable for determining the identity of the given viewer 1708,including, as illustrative but non-limiting examples, telephone numbers,NACSZ (Name, Address, City, State, Zip) information, account numbers,e-mail addresses, or the like.

The system 1700 can also include an embodiment of the upselldetermination unit 110, which communicates with the receiving means 1706to input or receive data 1707 identifying respective specific viewers1708. The upsell determination unit 110 further uses at least thisidentifying data 1707 to select from among potential items 1704 aparticular item 1710 to offer to specific viewers 1708 or groups ofviewers 1708.

The system 1700 also includes means 1712 for encoding the datarepresenting the respective offered items 1710 onto respectivemachine-readable storage media 1702 that are delivered or shipped torespective customers or viewers 1708. This encoding means 1712 cancommunicate directly with the upsell determination unit 110, or cancommunicate with the upsell determination unit 110 via at least onecomponent intermediate the encoding means 1712 and the upselldetermination unit 110. More particularly, the upsell determination unit110 can be networked to the encoding means 1712. The encoding means 1712is preferably adapted to record data representing a given offered item1710 selected for a given specific viewer 1708 onto a portion of thestorage medium 1702, with another portion of the storage medium 1702being either previously or contemporaneously recorded a main or titledentertainment feature. These aspects of the invention are addressed inmore detail in connection with FIG. 18. As described herein, the mainentertainment feature on a given medium 1702 typically corresponds tothe title printed on the medium 1702. Those skilled in the art willappreciate that the exact implementation of the encoding means 1712 mayvary depending on the implementation of the media 1702 itself, with theencoding means 1712 being compatible with the media 1702.

FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram illustrating further aspects of theinvention relating to the machine-readable storage medium 1702 asencoded with data representing one or more offers that are selected astaught herein. Given the teachings herein, those skilled in the art canchoose from any number of technologies to implement the media 1702 andcorresponding players, whether currently known or developed hereafter,and details of these implementations and particular are not includedherein. As those skilled in the art will understand, data representingthe entertainment feature, and the offered item as discussed below, canbe loaded and stored onto a medium 1702 readable by a computer, mediaplayer, or other suitable machine. Generally speaking, the media 1702can be implemented using any known or later-developed technology basedupon materials having specific magnetic, optical, semiconductor or otherproperties that render them suitable for storing computer- ormachine-readable data, whether such technology involves volatile ornon-volatile storage. Specific examples of such media 1702 can include,but are not limited to, magnetic-based hard or floppy disks drives,optical drives or CD-ROMs, and any memory technology based onsemiconductors or other materials, whether implemented as read-only orrandom access memory, as well as readily portable media such as DVD,VHS, MEMORY STICK™, or other technologies equivalent to any of theforegoing. In short, this embodiment of the invention may reside eitheron a medium 1702 directly addressable by the computer's or machine'smicroprocessor (e.g., residing in main memory, however implemented), oron a medium indirectly accessible to the processor (e.g., residing insecondary storage media such as hard disk drives, tape drives, DVD, VHS,or other media, CD-ROM drives, floppy drives, or the other portablemedia discussed above). Consistent with the above teaching, the media1702 can be affixed permanently or removably to or within a bay, socket,connector, or other hardware provided by a cabinet, motherboard, orother component of a given machine, media player, or computer system.

Whatever form the media 1702 may take, it preferably comprises at leasta first portion 1802, which contains, e.g., data representing a mainentertainment feature that is displayed to a viewer on command. The term“main entertainment feature” is used herein to refer to content storedon the medium 1702 that corresponds to or is associated with the titleof the medium 1702. This main entertainment feature is conventional andcan take any number of illustrative forms, including a movie, a sportingevent, or any other form of pre-recorded subject matter. Typically, butnot necessarily, the data representing the main entertainment feature isrecorded in bulk onto the storage medium 1702 before the storage medium1702 reaches the point of retail sale or distribution. For example,assuming the teachings herein are implemented in the context of retailmovie rentals, data representing a given movie or other feature may beencoded onto multiple copies of the media 1702 during a conventionalmanufacturing process. Some of these given copies could then bedistributed using conventional means without applying the teachingsherein. Other copies of these media 1702 could be encoded or recorded,after manufacture, with data representing the specially-selected itemsor offers 1710 as discussed herein. The term “encoded” is used herein torefer to any translation, transformation, or conversion processnecessary to store signals comprising the main entertainment feature orthe offered items onto the media 1702 in respective locations 1802 and1804.

The storage medium also contains at least a second portion 1804 thatcontains data representing one or more offered items 1710 that areselected using the teachings provided herein. In illustrativeembodiments of the invention, offered items 1710 can be selected forspecific, particular viewers 1708 using, at least in part, the upselldetermination unit 110 discussed herein, and then recorded onto a givenstorage medium 1702 at a point of sale or distribution. The secondportion 1804 can store data representing offered items 1710 in theillustrative form of one or more advertisements provided on behalf of athird party merchant (not shown). In further illustrative embodiments,the advertisement is selected to provide the viewer 1708 an incentive orinducement to contact the merchant or other specific third party. Inthese embodiments, the upsell determination unit 110, as taught herein,can select an item 1710 from a given third party whose products orservices are determined to be of potential particular interest to thegiven viewer 1708 of the medium 1702. The subject matter of the offereditem 1710 as stored in location 1804 as described herein can take anynumber of forms, including discounts, offers, coupons, or other items.These advertisements, as encoded or recorded onto the second portion1804 of the medium 1702, might include a telephone number, a websiteURL, or an e-mail address associated with the third party on whosebehalf the item 1710 is offered. In these embodiments, the invention canfunction to increase or drive contact traffic to the third party, or toan entity acting on behalf of the third party. This traffic can take theform of inbound telephone calls, e-mails, website hits, or the like.

For a non-limiting application of the instant teaching, movie trailers,advertisements, or other type of items are provided conventionally onmedia 1702 rented by viewers. Such conventional advertisements aretypically added to the media 1702 in bulk on a “one size fits all”basis, meaning that different viewers 1708 of a given title would seethe same trailers, advertisements, or other added material, regardlessof the demographic profile or other characteristics of the viewers 1708.Thus, these “one size fits all” items may or may not interest a givenviewer 1708. If the items do not interest the viewer 1708, he or shewill likely skip past them, thereby resulting in a lost or wastedmarketing opportunity. In contrast, according to various aspects of theinstant invention, different viewers 1708 of a given title might seedifferent items 1710, with these items 1710 being selected based onparameters specific to these given viewers 1708 or groups ofsimilarly-situated viewers 1708. Because the items 1710 encoded areintelligently selected for given viewers 1708, there is a higherprobability that the items 1710 will attract the viewer's 1708 attentionand hold the viewer's 1708 interest through the entire item 1710,thereby making the most of the marketing opportunity presented by havingthe medium 1702 played by the viewer 1708.

The invention as disclosed herein can be implemented in a physical,brick-and-mortar storefront to encode or record custom-selected, offereditems 1710 onto media 1702 rented to viewers 1708 in a customer-facingretail context (e.g., conventional video rental outlets), in an Internetcontext in connection with a website serving as an interface with whichviewers 1708 interact to select particular instances of media 1702 forviewing, or in other contexts. Turning first to the retail storefrontcontext, in these embodiments, the second portion 1804 of the media 1702can be recorded with the data representing the offered items 1710 inconnection with a transaction during which a given instance of themedium 1702 passes to a retail user or viewer 1708 to enable that viewer1708 to play, or display, or otherwise perceive entertainment featuresand the offered items 1710 encoded onto the medium 1702.

Turning now to the Internet website context, the second or furtherportion 1804 of the media 1702 can be recorded with the datarepresenting one or more offered items 1710 at a non-retail location, inresponse to an order received from the specific viewer 1708 via theInternet website. Such non-retail locations could include warehouses,distribution centers, or other facilities where numerous copies of themedia 1702 are stored pending shipment to viewers 1708. In theseembodiments, the further portion 1804 of the media 1702 can be recordedwith data representing the offered items 1710 before shipment of themedium 1702 to the customer or viewer 1708.

In any of the above illustrative contexts, a given instance of thephysical medium 1702 itself may be obtained and viewed by a plurality ofsuccessive users or viewers 1708, until the medium 1702 itself reachesthe end of its operational lifetime, or until it may be prematurelydamaged, destroyed, or rendered inoperable before the typicalmean-time-to-failure (MTTF) associated with the medium 1702. In anyevent, the further portion 1804 of the medium 1702, which stores thecustom-selected offered items 1710, can be re-written a plurality oftimes over the effective lifetime of the medium 1702 to containrespective data representing different offered items 1710 that areselected for different specific viewers 1708 as that medium 1702 isobtained by successive or consecutive viewers 1708. Thus, this furtherportion 1804 of the medium 1702 is typically a re-writeable storage areathat can be implemented using any number of known technologies thatsupport a write-many-times capability. In contrast, the portion 1802 ofthe medium 1702 containing the main entertainment feature is typicallywritten only once during the lifetime of the particular medium 1702, andlikewise can be implemented with any number of known technologiessuitable for supporting a write-once capability.

Those skilled in the art will recognize that the drawing figures herein,including, e.g., FIGS. 17 and 18, depict illustrative rather thanlimiting aspects of the invention. In particular, the contents of thesedrawings are chosen for convenience and clarity in illustration, andimplementations of the invention may differ from the drawing figureswithout departing from the scope of the invention.

FIG. 19 is a flow chart illustrating process flow provided by otherembodiments of the invention. In particular, the invention also providesmethods of encoding data representing offered items 1710 that areselected based on data specific to respective viewers 1708 onto machinereadable entertainment media 1702 to be delivered to such viewers 1708.Various aspects of these methods can comprise, at least in part,receiving respective requests (block 1902) from given viewers 1708 orcustomers that are in some way related to obtaining the entertainmentmedia 1702 for viewing, either through ownership or rental arrangementswith a merchant. The given viewers 1708 are respectively identified(block 1904), and at least one additional data element relating to agiven viewer 1708 is obtained (block 1906) using, at least in part, theidentification data 1707. One or more items 1710 to be offered orpresented to the given viewer 1708 via the entertainment medium 1702 areselected (block 1908) based, at least in part, on analysis of theadditional data element, and data representing the offered item 1710 isencoded (block 1910) onto given instances of the medium 1702 that areultimately transferred to the viewer 1708.

Turning to various components of the method in more detail, the methodcan be implemented in an Internet website application, in abrick-and-mortal storefront application, or in other applications.Regarding website applications, and expanding further on block 1902, themethod can include receiving requests from viewers 1708 at least in partvia an Internet website, for example a website associated with amerchant dealing in renting or selling entertainment-oriented media toconsumers. As a non-limiting example, NETFLIX® provides a media rentalservice via their website. These requests, and data related thereto, cantake the form of: account log-in requests; queries relating to varioustitles or other parameters pertaining to the entertainment media 1702;requests to rent or obtain various titles of the media 1702; or othertransactions as such may be received from remote viewers 1708 orpotential viewers 1708 via a website or other facility associated with awide area communications network.

Expanding further on block 1904, the method can further includeidentifying the given viewer 1708 by analyzing data associated with suchviewers 1708 when they access an Internet website to obtain a giveninstance of the entertainment media 1702. More particularly, the givenuser or viewer 1708 may be identified by accessing “cookie” files thatstore data related to given viewers 1708, or by refereeing to atelephone number, an account number, an IP address, or other uniqueparameter associated with a given viewer 1708, or any other suitableand/or equivalent identification means or process. Cookie files are wellknown in the art as small text files stored on client or servermachines.

Expanding further on block 1906, in obtaining the additional dataelement, various aspects of the method can include obtaining datarepresenting past transaction history, home location of the viewer 1708,or any other demographic data relating to a given viewer 1708. Further,the method can include analyzing subject matter of any current or pastrequest received from the given viewer 1708. Any of the foregoing datacan be input into the upsell determination unit 110, along with theother types of input data discussed herein. Further input into theupsell determination unit 110 can include data resulting from profilinga given viewer 1708 or from performing modeling or segmentation analysisof the viewer 1708, based at least in part on the additional dataelement. This analysis and related data flows are represented in FIG. 17by the reference signs 1714, 1715, and 1716.

Regarding physical storefront embodiments, the method can includeidentifying the customer, viewer, or potential viewer 1708 by any meansknown in the retail art. Processing associated with this embodiment hasbeen described in connection with the structure shown in FIG. 17.

Expanding on blocks 1908 and 1910, any of the above embodiments of theinvention can also include real time processing and structure to supportthe same. Certain real-time aspects of the invention can includeselecting one or more items 1710 to offer to a given viewer 1708 in realtime with receiving a request, access, query, or other transactionrelated to a given medium 1702 from the given viewer 1708, or selectingthese offered items 1710 in real time with identifying the given viewer1708. Further real-time aspects can include encoding the datarepresenting the offered items 1710 onto the medium 1702 in real timewith receiving the above request, access, or query from the given viewer1708, or can also include encoding the data representing the offereditem 1710 onto the medium 1702 in real time with selecting that item1710 for the given viewer 1708.

One or more offered items 1710 may be selected for encoding onto amedium 1702 to be delivered to a given viewer 1708, or separate items1710 may be encoded onto respective, separate media 1702 delivered tothe viewer 1708. In any event, data representing the offered items 1710can be encoded onto the media 1702, at least in part, by writing thedata onto a write-many or re-writable field 1804 allocated within themedium 1702. If the method is implemented in a physical storefrontembodiment wherein the media 1702 are transferred personally to theviewers 1708, the data representing the offered item 1710 can be encodedonto the media 1702 at a retail kiosk located in a physical storefront,with the kiosk either being operated by employees of a businessenterprise, or by the viewers 1708 themselves in a self-serviceenvironment.

If the method is implemented in an Internet web page embodiment whereinthe media 1702 are ultimately shipped to the viewers 1708 rather thanbeing personally delivered, the data representing the offered item 1710might be encoded onto the media 1702 at a non-retail location.Illustrative but non-limiting examples of non-retail locations mightinclude a warehouse, order fulfillment facility where orders areprocessed, or other distribution point from which the media 1702 areshipped.

Having been encoded with the data representing the offered items 1710,the media 1702 can then be presented to given viewers 1708 to enablethem to play the media 1702 as their convenience. In physical storefrontembodiments, the media 1702 may be ejected from a kiosk or other devicethat encoded the data onto the media 1702, with the media thentransferred to the viewer 1708. The kiosk or other device may be eithera self-serve apparatus operated by retail customers, or may abehind-the-counter device or system operated by employees of thestorefront. In Internet embodiments, the media 1702 can be shipped tothe viewer 1708 using any known conventional means after being encodedby a similar device or system located at the non-retail location.

Those skilled in the art will also understand that a computer programmedin accordance with the above teaching using known programming languagesprovides means for realizing the various functions, methods, andprocesses as described and claimed herein and as illustrated in thedrawing figures attached hereto. This application program can implementthe various aspects of the method discussed above and shown in thedrawing figures, and can be coded using any suitable programming orscripting language. However, it is to be understood that the inventionas described herein is not dependent on any particular operating system,environment, or programming language. Example operating systems include,without limitation, LINUX, UNIX, or any of the Windows™-family ofoperating systems, and example languages include without limitation avariety of structured and object-oriented languages such as C, C++,Visual Basic, Java, Perl, or the like.

Those skilled in the art, when reading this description, will understandthat unless expressly stated to the contrary, the use of the singular orthe plural number herein is illustrative, rather than limiting, of theinstant invention. Accordingly, where a given term is discussed in thesingular number, it will be well understood that the invention alsocontemplates a plural number of the item corresponding to the given termand vice versa, unless expressly stated herein to the contrary.

The foregoing cited references, patents and publications are herebyincorporated herein by reference, as if fully set forth herein. Althoughthe foregoing invention has been described in some detail by way ofillustration and example for purposes of clarity and understanding, itmay be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art in lightof the teachings of this invention that certain changes andmodifications may be made thereto without departing from the spirit orscope of the appended claims.

We claim:
 1. A method of encoding data, comprising: receiving at leastone request from at least one given viewer related to obtaining at leastone instance media for viewing as at least one input into a networkbased server system having a plurality of datastores, wherein theobtaining at least one instance media for viewing communicably couplesthe at least one instance media for viewing to the network based serversystem; identifying the given viewer and a given at least one uniqueidentifier from at least one of the plurality of datastores associatedwith the given viewer based on the obtaining of the at least oneinstance media for viewing; generating at least one upsell offer basedon an output from the at least one of the plurality of datastores asdetermined by the at least one input and the at least one uniqueidentifier associated with the given viewer the at least one upselloffer comprising at least one item for sale, and the at least one upselloffer being selected based on the at least one unique identifierassociated with the given viewer, wherein the unique identifieridentifies a communications device operated by the user and used by theuser to conduct a remote commerce sales transaction; and storing therequested instance media and the at least one upsell offer in a memoryof a portable readable storage medium accessible by the viewer.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, wherein receiving at least one request includes atleast one of: receiving a request from the viewer via an Internet-basedtechnology, including email, messaging technology supported by a webbrowser such as instant messenger technology, SMS messenger technology,person-to-person networking protocols, or Internet Protocol networking;receiving at least one account log-in request from the viewer via anInternet-based technology; receiving at least one query from the viewervia an Internet-based technology; receiving at least one request fromthe viewer to select at least one particular medium via anInternet-based technology; receiving at least one request from theviewer to obtain for viewing at least one particular medium via anInternet-based technology; and receiving the request from the viewer ata physical storefront location.
 3. The method of claim 1, whereinidentifying the given viewer: is performed in connection with the vieweraccessing an Internet-based technology that is related to obtaining themedia; includes accessing cookie files that store data related to givenviewers; or is performed using at least one of a telephone number, anaccount number, an email address, and an IP address associated with thegiven viewer.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising obtaining atleast one second data element, relating to the given viewer using, atleast in part, data identifying the given viewer.
 5. The method of claim4, wherein obtaining the at least one second data element, includes atleast one of: obtaining data representing at least one of pasttransaction history of the given viewer, home location of the givenviewer, and demographic data pertaining to the given viewer, analyzing asubject matter of the request received from the given viewer.
 6. Themethod of claim 4, further comprising profiling the given viewer basedat least in part on obtaining the at least one second data element. 7.The method of claim 4, further comprising performing one of a modelingand a segmentation analysis of the given viewer based at least in parton the obtained at least one second data element.
 8. The method of claim1, further comprising selecting at least one item to be offered to thegiven viewer based at least in part on analysis of a second dataelement.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein selecting at least one itemis performed in real time with at least one of: receiving the requestfrom the given viewer; and identifying the given viewer.
 10. The methodof claim 1, further comprising encoding data representing the at leastone offered item, wherein the encoding data is performed in real timewith at least one of: identifying the given viewer; receiving therequest from the given viewer; selecting the at least one item for thegiven viewer.
 11. The method of claim 1, further comprising selecting atleast a further item specifically for the given viewer.
 12. The methodof claim 11, further comprising encoding data representing at least thefurther item onto the instance of the plurality of databases.
 13. Themethod of claim 10, wherein encoding data includes, at least in part,writing the data onto a write-many field allocated within the instanceof the media in the network based server system having a plurality ofdatastores.
 14. The method of claim 10, wherein encoding data isperformed at at least one of: a retail kiosk located in a physicalstorefront; and a non-retail location.
 15. The method of claim 1,further comprising presenting the instance of the media to the givenviewer.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein presenting the instance ofthe media includes at least one of: ejecting a medium from a kiosk;ejecting a medium from an automated kiosk; and shipping a given instanceof the media to the viewer.
 17. At least one program storage devicereadable by a machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructionsexecutable by the machine to perform a method of encoding datarepresenting offered items that are selected for specific respectiveviewers onto machine-readable storage media, the media storing datarepresenting at least one entertainment feature, the method comprisingat least the following: receiving at least one request from at least onegiven viewer related to obtaining at least one instance media forviewing as at least one input into a network based server system havinga plurality of datastores, wherein the obtaining at least one instancemedia for viewing communicably couples the at least one instance mediafor viewing to the network based server system; identifying the givenviewer and a given at least one unique identifier from at least one ofthe plurality of datastores associated with the given viewer based onthe obtaining of the at least one instance media for viewing; generatingat least one upsell offer based on an output from the at least one ofthe plurality of datastores as determined by the at least one input andthe at least one unique identifier associated with the given viewer, theat least one upsell offer comprising at least one item for sale, and theat least one upsell offer being selected based on the at least oneunique identifier associated with the given viewer, wherein the uniqueidentifier identifies a communications device operated by the user andused by the user to conduct a remote commerce sales transaction; andstoring the requested instance media and the at least one upsell offerin a memory of the machine-readable storage media accessible by theviewer.
 18. The program storage device of claim 17 comprising: selectingat least one item to be offered to the given viewer based at least inpart on analysis of an additional data element; and encoding datarepresenting the at least one offered item onto a given instance of themachine-readable storage medium.
 19. A non-transitory computer readablestorage medium configured to store instructions that when executed causea processor to perform encoding data representing offered items that areselected for specific respective viewers the processor being furtherconfigured to perform: receiving at least one request from at least onegiven viewer related to obtaining at least one instance media forviewing as at least one input into a network based server system havinga plurality of datastores, wherein the obtaining at least one instancemedia for viewing communicably couples the at least one instance mediafor viewing to the network based server system; identifying the givenviewer and a given at least one unique identifier from at least one ofthe plurality of datastores associated with the given viewer based onthe obtaining of the at least one instance media for viewing; obtaininga given at least one unique identifier relating to the given viewerusing, at least in part, data identifying the given viewer; andselecting at least one item for sale to be offered to the given viewerbased at least in part on analysis of the given at least one uniqueidentifier, and at least in part on analysis of the at least one input,the at least one item for sale being selected based on the at least oneunique identifier associated with the given viewer, wherein the uniqueidentifier identifies a communications device operated by the user andused by the user to conduct a remote commerce sales transaction; andstoring the requested instance media and the at least item for sale in amemory of a machine-readable storage media accessible by the viewer.